Haunting, poetic dark country. Songs for those who see the face of God in rust and dirt and broken things. Who read in the crumbling names of towns on water towers the dispatches of passing seasons and forgotten heartbeats.

14 MP3 Songs in this album (63:09) !
Related styles: FOLK: Alternative Folk, COUNTRY: Alt-Country

People who are interested in Nick Cave Mark Lanegan Ryan Adams should consider this download.


Details:
"The Dying Days of Summer" features guest appearances by KatieJane Garside (Daisy Chainsaw, Queen Adreena, Ruby Throat), Andria Degens (Pantaleimon, Current 93), Matt Bauer, Jay Foote, Josie Little and Sara Zentner.


"...Without fail, the lyrics read well in their own right as poems, and truly shine out when put to Zentnerâs hypnotic, whispering vocals and dreamy arrangements. Beware though, this album does not make for easy listening. Zentnerâs tales are tinged with black, and as beautiful as his prose is, there is a real underlying darkness that imparts a deliciously deep sense of unease. Conjuring images of desolate, rusty small towns, and compelling tales of human tragedy, love, and friendship, the listener is transported away into another world entirely."
--Americana-UK

"A disconcerting purveyor of caustic Americana, Jeff Zentner is an introspective young songwriter who conjures images of suburban desolation and despair through his dark lyricism and some stark, whispered vocals. Drawing on the bittersweet melancholy of Iron and Wine and the unsettling fragility of Mark Lanegan, Zentner sets about creating a hugely-affecting sound that echoes with desperation and a heart-breaking sense of youthful resignation. His debut album Hymns to the Darkness is a difficult, troubling but immensely rewarding listening experience. Alongside barren arrangements consisting of weeping lap steel and precision finger-picking, Zentner talks of forgotten, nameless towns, rusting industries and his frustrations at the dying heart of real world America. This is heart-wrenching, throat-drying melancholy that connects with the raw and primal fears of every intoxicated listener. Zentner is a truly breath-taking talent."
--Fresh Deer Meat

"Lush, haunting, and sparse are just a few of the words I'd use to describe the music of Jeff Zentner. This North Carolina native has the whole Leonard Cohen melancholy thing down to a science. His songs are so beautiful that you won't even mind if they make you a little depressed. Unless you're like me and love depressing music, then you'll be elated at how depressed they'll make you."
--Triumphs and Tragedies

"These are dark, melancholic country ballads here folks - and I can honestly say they hit the mark. While many want diversity in an album in order to get a feel for an artist, it can leave you unaware of the true sound or an identity in general. This is the case with Zentner as you will know from the first listen, that his sound is to provide beautifully bleak soundscapes of Americana goodness. Think of a somber Ryan Adams with less piano mixed with Steve Earle without the anger."
--Slowcoustic

"The wonderfully talented Jeff Zentner is back and better than ever with a new album âThe Dying Days of Summer" . . . Iâve listened to the new album and it is definitely a stunner."
--You Crazy Dreamers

"Give this haunting, oddly disturbing enigma a listen. You may be a little depressed at first, but as you go along some pretty interesting and beautiful images will surround you."
--Laughing Evergreens

"...Reminding me of a more embellished Nick Drake and recent folk-lovey Fionn Regan, these are beautiful songs that also have a hint of Morrissey about their lyrics. They may be dark, but thereâs something wonderfully uplifting about them."
--The Line of Best Fit

"given my propensity to tagging bands, songs, artists with such lazy and sophomoric labels as 'awesome,' 'killer,' 'lovely,' 'great,' 'most excellent,' etc it may seem that my vocabulary is quite limited, but you would only be half right. sometimes, even i get hung up and such trite phrases just ain't gonna cut it. such is the case with asheville native, jeff zentner and his recently released, the dying days of summer. i have been attempting to come up with something, for the past 4 days, that not only intelligently but emotionally conveys the tone of this record. still the words escape me. as i was alluding to, zentnerâs the dying days of summer emits visions and themes, and when words are lacking, resort to a picture. that is exactly how the record sounds to me. stumbling through the darkness and the moss that is seemingly everywhere in places like savannah, ga. this is definitely a very southern record, but not in a southern rock kinda way, but in a you may have to live here to understand kinda way. this is not to say if you don't live or have never lived in the south you won't appreciate or dig this record, in fact quite the contrary. the dying days of summer just sounds like the south. the sounds of the south that aren't really heard but felt."
--Captain's Dead

"Somewhere in the broad open spaces between folk and country, Jeff Zentnerâs self-released second solo album The Dying Days of Summer echoes the sound of a voice against the rain, observes the mystery in far lights on a hill, sees the threat of a river rising, and remembers the smell of jasmine at night. The minimalist production brings to mind empty fields, abandoned farmhouses, and dirt roads meandering away from southern towns. Zentner accompanies his poetic vocals with guitar, slide guitar, dobro, banjo, pedal steel, lap steel, mandolin, cello, piano, organ in outrageously beautiful compositions. Fans of J. Tillman should should take a listen."
--Speed of Dark

"Absolutely first-class, richly lyrical Nashville gothic from Asheville, North Carolina tunesmith Jeff Zentner. The instrumentation is mostly acoustic, very rustic in places but the lyrical vision is completely in the here and now. The often white-knuckle intensity in the songs and Zentnerâs sometimes breathy voice remind a lot of Matt Keating, particularly his Summer Tonight album from a couple of years ago; musically, itâs a lot closer to the nocturnal sound of Ninth House frontman Mark Sinnisâ haunting solo work. Zentner plays pretty much all the instruments here except the piano and harmonium, sparsely and elegantly arranged. The production is particularly smart, the music perfectly matching the brooding feel of the lyrics, an intricate web of stringed instruments awash in eerie, echoey reverb, pedal steel soaring mournfully overhead. . . Darker than Iron & Wine, more deeply steeped in Americana than Nick Cave, this nonetheless ought to appeal to both camps. . . Watch for this on our best 50 albums list of 2009 at the end of the year."
--Lucid Culture

"His dark and rustic Americana sound hits heavy but resonates deeply, with a voice that calls to mind Mark Lanegan and the ominous lyrics to match. The fourteen-track album runs sixty long minutes, demanding your attention and time. Donât expect bite-sized, hook-heavy anthems with this one â these are songs you need to listen to and not just hear."
--Dust Sleeve