Nick Drake - Bryter Layter LP

After crafting a debut album full of beauteous, somber chamber-folk, Nick Drake proved his low-key singing, gentle folk, and supreme mood-setting were no fluke on Bryter Layter. With a bright, sparkling production and mellow orchestrations, the framework is light and airy, a touchstone for what evolved into the singer-songwriter movement. 

Drake's artfully expressed turmoil occasionally peeks through in the lyrics and understated-but-heartfelt vocal deliveries. "At the Chime of a City Clock" finds Drake facing existential despair at every turn, despite an almost-lugubrious string arrangement. Perhaps the crucial moment of Bryter Layter occurs on "Poor Boy," where female backing vocalists seemingly mock the singer's anguished laments. Yet the record also claims a subtle playfulness that again suggests Drake not the miserable soul that he's often portrayed in the media. This LP is a stunning reflection at solitary thought and existence, and the loss that accompanies such states.