''Dept. of Disappearance'' is the second solo studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

musician

Jason Lytle Jason Lytle ( ; born March 26, 1969) is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock group Grandaddy. The group split in 2005, and Lytle continued to release music as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians. Gra ...

. It was released on October 16, 2012 by record label

ANTI- Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop (Sage Francis, The Cou ...

. Regarding the album, Lytle noted, "If there were any deliberate attempts on this record, it was trying to get back to more of a fairy-tale-ish-

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

thing that was once again rooted in reality, with drums, pianos and real instruments."

Writing and composition

Regarding the album's lyrical and thematic content, Jason Lytle noted, "I think if anything, some of the elements that used to drive a lot of my favourite Grandaddy songs home, was this whole

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

aspect. Creating these little worlds and creating sounds and creating lines

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

you almost have to create your own little image to go with what you're hearing. ..I had this recurring image throughout the album, and I don't know where this came from. It's this recurring image, of some sort of tragedy. It's a woman, stranded, up high, in a blizzard, among the rocks and a guy who is down in the valley who can't do anything about it and its this distress of him knowing he can't do anything about it. I think there are two or three songs, where that imagery pops up."

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Tim Sendra gave the album a positive review, stating "''Dept. of Disappearance'' shows that far from vanishing, Lytle is making a claim to be one of the more interesting and consistent singer-songwriters around; willing to take sonic chances, but always delivering music that's as much about feel as it is about meaning."

Stephen Deusner Stephen M. Deusner is an American music critic and part-time record store clerk who lives in Bloomington, Indiana. A native of Tennessee, he has contributed to Pitchfork Media (including ''the Pitchfork 500''), ''Salon'', '' CMT'', ''American Songwr ...

of Pitchfork gave the album a mixed review, noting " he track 'Your Final Setting Sun'says more about Lytle's career than any veiled lyric could: If he can't push himself in new directions, he'll be stuck at his desk job, pushing paper for the Department of Disappearance forever."

Track listing

Personnel

- vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano, drums, percussion, dulcimer, melodica, effects,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, recording,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, mixing, album art, photography ; Additional personnel * Brett Allen - recording assistance * Larry Crane - mixing * Greg Calbi - mastering * Rob Jones - album layout and design * Stefano Felcini - photography * John Garner - cover photograph

References

External links

''Dept. of Disappearance''
on Anti- Records' official website {{Authority control 2012 albums Jason Lytle albums Anti- (record label) albums