Pitcher makes the strange sound natural. . . a fluid undulation from starry indie-folk to inert sound collage and back again, never breaking its lulling wave-like motion along the way.  Terrific! - Pitchfork

 

Jefferson Pitcher‘s naturalistic masterpiece Now the Deer is made of sweeping string movements and subtle expressions of ghostly musical discussions.  This is Americana that sounds both vast and intimate. - Zen Effects

Pitcher’s guitar is slow, calculated, and wide open, like Malick’s Days of Heaven, with an understated intensity and long takes of waving wheat fields glowing in the sun.  Click and crunch, field recordings, mumbled whispers, all add to the overwhelming beauty.  Now the Deer  is a shining centerpiece on 2011’s mantel. - Anti Gravity Rabbit

 

Some artistic achievements are so audacious that they belie criticism. Of Great and Mortal Men falls squarely into the category of unassailable artistic achievement. - Prefix Magazine

 

Hirondelles is rife with minimalist trapping, hypnotic repetition, and beautifully crafted melodies. All the stronger is Pitcher’s ability to be respectfully innovative, calling to mind greats such as Chatham, Connors, and Montgomery, without lifting their signature. - Impose Magazine

Theatrical numbers that emerge from a fusion of Ennio Morricone and Calexico.  Pitcher’s soft, contemplative singing details a variety of cryptic scenarios, while the music has the feeling of zoning out in the heat suggested by soft electronic drones and nylon guitar. - All Music

 

The final piece of this double album, "Mountain Above Sky", brings the proceedings back to how it began and is perhaps the most heartfelt tribute to the Oliveros.  Sparse chords and sung duet vocals make for the focus, balancing the large and small sound dynamics perfectly.  The performance matches the mood in a sad, beautiful, and intimate way that, by its conclusion, features accordion in a final, appropriate tribute to her. Pauline Oliveros may not be associated with the guitar as an instrument, but Jefferson Pitcher and Austin Hatch have clearly taken on her methodology to sound and art and translated it to their respective instruments.  Like her own works, Shumoto & The Byrde encourages deep listening and give the space for that to happen throughout this heartfelt, powerful record.  The Sea Will Carry Me is the result, in the form of a loving, fitting tribute to Oliveros and her work that I am sure she would be extremely proud of in every possible way.

- Brainwashed

 

Jefferson Pitcher’s song about Chester Arthur, “The Epitome of Dignity”, sounds almost as drugged out as your average Sonic Youth b-side. -Pop Matters

 

With Of Great and Mortal Men, there are some exceptional tracks, with the highlights ranging in style from the gentle alt-country of "Rough and Ready" (which covers the incumbency of Zachery Taylor, 1849-50) and "Helicopters Above Oakland" (Ulysses S. Grant, 1869-77), all the way to the haunting, Mogwai-esque drone of "There Was No Longer Use to Hide the Fact That It Was Gout" (William Howard Taft, 1909-13). Pitcher’s illuminations, both grand and humbling, provide fresh perspectives on lives you thought you already knew and others you'll be surprised never to have heard of. ~ KQED