“The Wisdom Line” is uncommonly suffused with beauty, even for a musician as brilliant David Bridie. Bridie’s groups, first Not Drowning Waving, then My Friend the Chocolate Cake, have tended to overshadow his eclectic solo work, but the best of his own releases are the ones I keep coming back to. Here he foregoes some of the experimentation he can get up to, and has put together eleven exquisitely filigreed tracks. Gentle rhythms, piano leads, sparse instrumentation, an echoing ambience, all leave space for his soft, amazingly expressive voice. Spoken voice additions on three songs meld perfectly. The lyrics address places and moods and modern politics. Highlights are the sublime piano and electric guitar, just a minute-plus granted to us with the title track; the plodding Nietzsche-quoting “The Abyss”; and the heartbreaking chorus of “She Upped and Gone.” Unforgettably lovely and profound.
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