Reviews by kuvien

A lot of what I love in a folk album: quirky female vocals, interesting instrumentation that has a carnivalesque childishness to it (musette and accordion), soft, loose, almost purposefully-clumsy strumming on acoustic guitar, all wrapped up in a cozy bit of psychedelia.

There's a certain kind of artist who will intentionally bend off-key notes once in a while, just to see if you're listening. This is that kind of music. Imagine entering a chrysalis not to evolve as the caterpillar does into the butterfly but to "devolve", not to become lesser but to shed yourself of all the complications and regrets clinging to you. This music is the herald of your better self, an expression of your journey through the faerie ring. (Just remember, kids: it was never as good as you remember! Not even the faerie ring.)

This album is a long trippy ambient jazz jam fest of East meets West sitars dueling with saxophones. Everything that was right about the 70s. Raga rock is very much an unexplored genre for me, but the hypnotic allure of the music beckons me deeper. This is soothing.

A lovely little out-of-the-way album, and as progressive as pop gets at this time, in my opinion. It's fun, weird, and super catchy, accessible yet surprisingly complex. The melodies invite you to wordlessly sing along, but the strange childlike screeches and other unexpected non-musical sounds warn you not to get too close.

The unskippable skits...

Like all of Fela Kuti's compositions, this music rolls out the red carpet for him before he ever opens his mouth to sing, except instead of being red, it's green, and instead of a carpet, it's a flag...a flag stained with sorrow, tears, and blood. I imagine him sliding and prancing and swaying, telling a story with the fluid movements of the infectious music before ever uttering a syllable.

Part of my Fela expansion project, adding more Fela funkiness to rotation. 'Nuff said.

Fela Kuti vs. the Nigerian Army, Round... huh. Anybody keeping count? I mean, it's pretty much a TKO at this point already, but there's still so much more drama to come. For the time being, Kuti is a hero of the people, and he's exonerated.

You don’t have to be proficient in Portuguese or even be familiar with the travel journals this album is based on to understand, right at the beginning, that this music is about traveling, and not just traveling, but dangerous sea voyages. You hear the wind above and the waves beneath the slow, mournful horns and the bright tones of the guitar. Finding a translation of the lyrics would be worth the minimal effort, however. The sinking of a man’s heart is compared to being lost in the depthless, unfeeling sea, for example. And then there are festive songs about the dangers of fishing in the sea or exploring unknown lands with a knife between your teeth. An album that’s as equally festive as it is somber.

Mystical, pagan, tribal. I've read that this band was quite the live experience back in the day, so I have in my mind perhaps a milder (but still valid) version of Heilung. The bagpipes definitely weave spells as the deep drums nourish the roots of the music. And no neo-Medieval folk would be complete without the charm of the flute, belying the frightening nature of what paganism actually is.

Very chill, and even nicer when you understand the lyrics. This is one part symphonic, one part spacey, and it’s 100% wholesome. Like in all their imitations, the Japanese are good at being hippies, even when they aren’t.

Engaging, interesting, and complex space rock out of Japan. I really feel like I'm on some kind of trippy space odyssey with this album. It's got a lot of good progressive electronic elements to it, too.

The vocals are surprisingly clear and melodic for punk, especially considering how lo-fi the rest of it sounds. I don't consider this particularly hardcore, but it certainly is sad, unlike a lot of the high-energy political punk of the time. More stuff about rape, junkies, and zombies than bitching about Reagan. A lot of punk bands take the world's problems on the chin and fight back. This EP is more brooding, talking about unendurable pain and suicide, like they're wedding themselves to Death.

The folk equivalent of a weak but well-meant handshake.

The kind of music you lie about liking because your ex made you listen to it and gaslight you into liking it, but after she dumped you, you decided to keep it highly rated because you needed something to call your own.

Instahate.

A lovely little British folk album, pleasant enough to enjoy here during my spring holidays. The first track is unassailable, a beautiful folk melody telling the story of--or rather the feelings involved in--Mary, Queen of Scots', imprisonment in Fotheringay Castle by the evil, heretic Queen Elizabeth. So evil.

Come gather on the warm grass, and if you happen to be a traveling minstrel, go up. Join them on the stage. They’re calling you! Don’t forget your songbook filled with tales of love and jealousy, politics and death. But remember that the people are here to dance, too, so be ready with a lively folk jig. I know you have the greatest of all folk ballads in your songbook—or is it knocking around in your brain? “Tam Lin”. Save that for after the dance, for its tale of the deepest magic of all, Love, will go well with the cooling of all those beating hearts.

Lemme tell ya, my guy, this dude is really good at playing his guitar!

Incredibly complex guitar playing here, as comfortable following snatches of melody as it is eager to explore tempo shifts and more experimental turns in the music that have almost a droning feel to them. I'm not big into American Primitivism. Tried to get into it years ago and didn't care. Still not blown away by mere virtuosity, but I feel like this is fine.