Since he first began setting words to music ten years ago, Nashville artist Stephen Gordon has cultivated a sound that is as compelling as it is unimposing. Drawing on the work of Ryan Adams, Frank Sinatra, and Josh Ritter, his meticulous songwriting measures out subtle balances of poignancy and small talk, ideas and images, inventiveness and tradition. Gordon’s first full-length album, “I Have Seen Your Shining Spirit,” glides effortlessly between these paired opposites, and the effect is a meaning that lingers gorgeously. The collective talent of Gordon’s six-piece ensemble is no studio-manufactured sleight of hand; the band’s live performances are as tight as a drumhead, energetic, and adaptive. Instrumentation including fiddle, banjo, and lap-steel are raw ingredients that collaborate in alt-country themes and variations charged with Gordon’s earnest joy and rich, able singing. Before the 2009 completion of "Shining Spirit", the Virginia-raised artist toured throughout the Southeast United States on the EP, "Almond" (2008), delivering the first surprising portion of depth in minimally produced songs. The EP allowed a glimpse into the vision Gordon was developing, just as his newest release opens many of the doors that “Almond” only chose to set before us. Whether in concert or studio, it is the specter and memory of his childhood Shenandoah Valley that gives Gordon's music its intuitive, pastoral texture. Even so, what has perhaps come to be the most valuable aspect of the musician's work is its restraint. It is profound, but not overt; instructive, but not didactic- "Well I found some bones by the side of the road / There's a lot to learn when they're not your own." As one writer has said of similar craftsmanship, Gordon's music not only delights- it "trains the moral imagination." .. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.