Since 2004, J. Tillman has quietly been releasing records that have been, for the most part, unheard - some were of limited quantity, some were mostly available in Europe. The borderline-alienating starkness and well lived in narratives of his first two records, I Will Return and Long May You Run, J. Tillman (released in limited runs of 150) endeared him to fans and drew comparisons to Nick Drake, Will Oldham, and Jason Molina. Vacilando Territory Blues, Tillman's fifth album and first with Austin's Western Vinyl, came as the result of three different recording attempts in 2008. The push and pull of this record veers sharply from the tone of Tillman's previous releases, which for the most part adhere to a singular mood and stylistic execution. Sacrificing a stylized album, the breadth of Tillman's abilities as a songwriter emerge in an array of musical personalities bound by his lyrical existential dread and economical arrangements. In 2008, Tillman joined Fleet Foxes, a Seattle band of longtime friends and musical collaborators. Casey Wescott and Christian Wargo both appear on VTB, along with several regular contributors who were willing to adapt to idiosyncratic recording obstructions. Vacilando Territory Blues is far and away Tillman's most collaborative effort, and the most striking moments here are those seemingly stumbled upon, without resorting to second-takes or microphone re-adjustment. This album casts a strange perspective on what people have come to expect from Tillman's music, but these songs, though oddly untethered, reveal the process of someone coming to terms with the prospect of making music in the void.