Thousand Words

The CD wrapper says “File Under: Alternative Rock,” but despite the melancholy Elliott Smith cover (the previously unreleased “Taking a Fall”), Portland Cello Project’s third and most ambitious album transcends category. 

Although sporting only one actual “classical” work (Gabriel Fauré’s famous “Elegy”), Thousand Words feels more classical than the band’s previous efforts, mostly due to its poignant centerpiece: Decemberist Rachel Blumberg’s gorgeous tripartite suite “The Dream” (dedicated to the memory of her mother, Portland cello teacher Naomi Blumberg), which expresses its ambition not through sophisticated compositional techniques, but rather in employing memorable, related tunes to express distinct moods.