This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
For a guy who calls his one-man band The Microphones, Phil Elverum isn’t much of a volume dealer — at least, not on his imaginitively titled concert CD Live in Japan, February 19th, 21st, and 22nd, 2003.
Armed with just his acoustic guitar and his fragile voice, the idiosyncratic Elverum comes off like Neil Young in a particularly bleak and introspective mood, lazily strumming his way through haunted, sombre confessions with titles like Great Ghosts, We Squirm and — perhaps not coincidentally — After N. Young. Even when he’s joined by a sparse band (including croaky vocalist Calvin Johnson) on cuts like the 11-minute epic Universe Conclusion, the cumulative effect barely moves enough air to douse a candle. Ironically, though, Elverum’s quietude is his greatest asset. Instead of beating you over the head with volume, he entices you to listen to every syllable — and gets his message across loud and clear.
