Ulaan Passerine is one of many aliases used by Los Angeles-based guitarist Steven R. Smith. This latest album is a shimmery walk into guitar instrumental territory. Smith produces an elegant kind of instrumental music that would sit well with both post-rock fans and those into a more mellow psychedelic vibe. Think along the terms of the band Oregon as a reference. Not ‘easy’ listening, but ‘gentle’ listening. Well done.
This has to be one of the cooler psychedelic folk albums I’ve heard in a while. There’s something Balkan in black (w)hole’s music structure, where I can imagine the Incredible String Band jamming with old Greek or North Macedonian shepherds in the hills. Brilliant.
A compilation of new music out of avant-garde China. From the Old Heaven Books Bandcamp site: “A creative collaboration of producer Tu Fei and artist Liu Qingyuan. Event organization by Tu Fei, artwork for promotion and production by Liu Qingyuan. Event programs include talks, screenings, forums, workshops, musicians’ commission creation and live performance, recording, publishing, and many more. Admiring tradition and exploring the future, the duo’s goal is to bring music to various places, from village to city, from square to factory, from bookstore to family altar, from theater to village hall, and from gallery to drying field…”
Many, many years ago I was a fan of the sludge-metal band Neurosis, who first came to my attention with a booming cover of Joy Division’s classic, Day Of The Lords. What I didn’t know until a week ago is that their guitarist, Steve Von Till released a gothic-Americana album in 2015 which has the power of old country with the brooding feeling of an acoustic Swans fronted by Johnny Cash.
Our dear friends at the Lollipoppe Shoppe have released a freakily good album out of 1990s Poland. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “Atman was an eco-activist collective, that released tape-only pastoral dwelling jams in the fine Polish-Jazz tradition… Hamered dulcimer and exotically tuned 12-string guitars among basket-loads of unknown sounds, since the 70’s! Personal Forest is the culmination of artistic and personal quest.”
Richard Dawson’s latest album is a fascinating listen. It mixes vocals that could fit in well with English folk, psychedelic rock, prog and AOR music, while being musically underpinned by something that could almost pass for freak folk at times, while falling back now and again on progressive rock structures. The album shapes and shifts on each track, and I was constantly surprised by what Dawson would come up with next. I don’t do Top Tens, but if I did, this would easily make such a list.
This has to be one of my favorite psychedelic folk releases since the heyday of bands like Charalambides. Merit Medrano is an Austin-based guitarist and leader of Sound and Voice, which is, apparently, his latest musical project, implying that he’s been a busy soul for some time now. The music has a raga-esque feel to it, the guitar work is cosmic in scope, and if you like the works of such legends as Sandy Bull, this release will definitely appeal to you. Australian record label Ramble Records is responsible for releasing this hazy slab of vinyl, and now I’ll need…
Some very happy news today, as Japanese acid-folk-psych band Kikagaku Moyo have given us a fresh album. From their Bandcamp website: “In many ways ‘Kumoyo Island’ represents the culmination of a journey for Kikagaku Moyo. While their decade-long career can be summarized as a series of kaleidoscopic explorations through lands and dimensions far and near, there’s a strong intention in each of their works to take the listener to a particular place, however real or abstract they may be. In that sense, the title and cover art for the band’s fifth and final album draws you into a magical mass…
Our friend and one of our perennial favorites at this blog, Jeff Gburek, comes to us with a mini-LP’s worth of meditative guitar music supplemented with an electro-acoustic bass berimbau, pine cones, and field recordings. There is an element of twangy, echoey, lo-fi music in these recordings which reminded me of the primordial, primitive guitar stylings of Robbie Basho or John Fahey blended with touches of American psychedelic folk as heard by bands such as Texas’ acid-folk legends Charalambides.
From Kaliningrad, Russia (formerly my material ancestral Linn homeland of Koenigsberg, East Prussia) hail one of the most impressive psychedelic folk records I’ve heard in some time. From the cacophony of the violin starting the album, it morphs into a Beatlesque horn arrangement. Those few seconds set the tone for what I figured would be a very heavy listening experience. Sunset Wings, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Aleks Popov team on this album with fellow singer Evgeniy Brodsky. What makes the album crucial listening, along with the impressive instrumental array you will see below, is the adaptations by poets and…