Of The Wand & The Moon - Your Love Can't Hold The Wreath Of Sorrow (2021)

I usually don't listen to a lot of neofolk, but I listen a lot to the new Of The Wand & The Moon called Your Love Can't Hold The Wreath Of Sorrow. Excellent from start to end, with many memorable songs / tracks, of different kinds (dark folk parts of course but also noise, spoken words...). Great melodies and atmosphere. Easily one of my favourite albums this year (well, last year now, but I still listen to it).

The Bandcamp page.

 

Bicikl - Chertamy y Ryazamy (2016)

I love finding obscure music, by complete chance (here on my Bandcamp wanderings), and that it's very special, mysterious, and great. The Chertamy y Ryazamy tape by Bicikl is such music. It's been released this summer by Iowa's noise label The Centipede Farm. Here is their description of the project :

"BICIKL was formed in Belgrade, Serbia in 2008 by two Lithuanian immigrants, Harbor Tévas and Vyrash Karunos, with the idea to promote old Lithuanian pagan values. They would invite anybody willing to play to join them at their weekly gatherings in Vyrash's living room, where they would spend time together, talk, drink tea or rakija, watch films and improvise music. Every rite was recorded, adding up to over 100 hours of original material.

The collective soon grew to include more than 10 members, and in 2009 they started performing live rites that were a mixture of primitive theater, pagan rituals and modern eclectic music played on traditional ethnic instruments in combination with modern electronic gadgets. The line-up changed from performance to performance, based on principles of free improvisation where everyone is welcome and no one is necessary." 

The main element of the is traditionnal Balkan music, but witht he electronic / noise elements and the improvisationnal form it evokes noise / krautrock / free-jazz as well. Surprising and great music with a strong atmosphere.

Highly recommended!

The Bandcamp page.

Tom Carter - Long Time Underground (2015)

Minimalistic but full. Close but wide. That what comes to my mind when I try to describe Tom Carter's music on this solo album (he plays also in a psych folk band called Charalambides) called Long Time Underground released last year. This is guitar only. With a bit of distortion, bringing a bit of a psych / drone feel. Earth could be a comparison, both are excellent at creating a strong atmosphere. Quiet and very deep. Great stuff!

The Bandcamp page.

Blackbird Raum - Destroying (2015)

Destroying, released last year, is the fifth album from the american folk-punk band Blackbird Raum. Like the fourth previous albums it is really good, strenghtening my opinion that Blackbird Raum is the best band in the "folk-punk scene". Entirely acoustic the main instruments are the accordion and the guitars, with also percussions and strings and dual male / female vocals that are excellent. The lyrics are really good ("All that praises heaven slanders earth", "adder", and the other songs as well actually...) and the singing sounds really heartfelt. That and the really good songwriting makes their music feel really intense and passionnate (as much as any "loud" band can).

Their Website

Their BC page.

CityCop / Les Doux-family ties-Labors of love split (2012)

I really enjoyed Citycop previous releases (see my review and interview HERE) and am happy that they bring us some new songs with this split tape.
What they play is something a bit like acoustic screamo. It's acoustic, but the passionate vocals remind screamo and they also play quite fast. But it's not traditional hardcore / screamo without electricity, it's different, sometimes there's a feeling a bit like when flamenco gets pretty fast. And it's not just speed there's a wide diversity of tempi and emotions in the three songs featured on this split. Another great release by CityCop, I just have one complaint : three songs is not enough!
Les Doux, from Hattiesburgh plays a more classic screamo but they do it with taste and ll the intensity needed, making their part of the split another really enjoyable listen.

CityCop on BC
Les Doux on BC

Listener-Wooden heart (2010)

Wooden heart is the latest record from the duo Listener. they are what they call a talk band, accoustic or nearly (mostly guitar and drums, sometimes a bit of trumpet or piano, or beats) with  spoken words that sounds a bit like talked emo vocals (sometimes it reminds also a bit Sole). the music sounds a bit like folk / americana or indie rock. The overall result is beautiful songs (or "talks") at the same time quiet and really intense and moving, they manage to carry a lot of emotions in their "songs". yeah I think intensity and emotions would be the key words to describe the music of Listener.


but just check it by yourself :

Listener's bandcamp
 Listener's website (with tour dates, video clips, news, etc...)

Dan Smith, one of the member of the duo (looks like it's a trio now) answered to my questions by mail. you can read it below :

-how does Listener started ? what was the project at the start and how it evolved ?

it started as a solo rap career.....actually it was just the rap name I used when I first started making music, and then after a while I didn't want to make rap music anymore and started touring and making albums with friends and eventually with Chris Nelson and it just evolved from there.

 

-a few words about Wooden heart your latest record?

it's a record we made on the road, and was interesting to make and tour on at the same time. We did a 6 month tour and by the end of it we had a full record released. 

 

-I think your semi-spoken vocals share with hardcore/emo vocals a similar intensity, do you agree? are you influenced by this kind of music?

 

I guess it's all what you make it or what you compare to what you know. I don't know much about hardcore music. Chris and Kris know more than I do about hardcore. When I grew up I listened to hiphop music, and grew out of that, but sort of kept the idea of writing in a sort of poetry style.

 

-in your previous records there was some hip-hop like beats, will it appear again in future record or do you decided to abandon it? 

 

probably not :)

-seems to me that Wooden heart sounds a bit more “positive” that your other record, do you agree?

 

oh yeah, I'd agree with that. Return to Struggleville was about struggle, and really so is Wooden Heart, but RTS was about a knife salesman losing his job and eventually getting stabbed to death, and WH isn't about that.

-what about your lyrics? What subjects are the most important for you?

I think lately the idea that we are all unique and special and have something to give, even if that is negativity, and that it's ok to have the feelings we have. I probably won't write about that all the time specifically, but with those ideas in mind.....trying to not be too critical of how other people live their lives.

 

-how do you write the songs?

little by little. usually all the time. I write a few words down or a line or two, and then day by day eventually sit down and comb through all that stuff and write out some songs.

 

-Wooden heart was released in 2010, is the next record coming soon, are the songs already written? How will it sound?

the songs are already written, and we've demoed them a couple times and toured a few months on them. it's a bit harder than WH, but it's better in a lot of ways, and it's just the three of us playing the tunes. we wanted to strip some of the extras down and just make some rock and roll music.

 

-with what kind of band do you usually play live? Mostly accoustic bands? Rock band? both?

like what kind of bands we tour with and play with? it's just a mix of all kinds. Usually just about everything goes with us, and we're up for all kinds of music and bands to play with. It's a lot nicer than playing with 5 of the same sounding style of band on a tour or show for all involved I think.

-what is planned for Listener in the end of 2012 and in 2013?

we have new music to put out, new tours. perhaps solo music from Chris and even myself. I've been writing for a poetry book and project...still molding what that'll be. but more music and touring.

Jayke Orvis-It's all been said (2010)

Jayke Orvis is an ex member of the 357.string band and current Goddam gallows, It's all been said is his first solo record, released in 2010 by Farmageddon records (a cool record label for outlaw/punk country music). Jayke Orvis is a killer mandoline player and his music could be described as "sinister hillbilly". the songs are good, the playing top notch and the vocals allright even if you're not that much into hillbilly singing style. it's really among the cool records from the "dark & punk side of country music".

Laike-Långt från stadslivets dån

This time I present you something really different. Laike is a solo project by a swedish flutist and composer called Christofer Ståhle. Långt från stadslivets dån (which means far away from the noise of the city) was released in february 2012, it is a work inspired, among other things, by british folk rock bands of the 70'. Some parts are improvisations recorded in an oil cisterno in Shangai. The whole record has a somewhat "magic" atmosphere, with really enjoyable melodies, the singing in swedish adding to the eerie feling of the songs. All that makes a really special record. If you like folk, prog', soft psychedelia and 70' rock or just good melodies you should give it a try. You won't regret it.

you can listen to it on Bandcamp.

 Christofer Ståhle kindly answered to some questions I sent him so you can read it below :

-tell me about the birth of the Laike project, your first solo album after having played in bands for ten years isn’t it?

I had been playing with a band called Mashbrick and the Horns of Plenty for over 10 years but for different reasons we got stuck with some recordings. The fact that I wanted to play, record and finish different recordings of my songs without being able to do so made me think about controlling the process myself instead. Since I had no experience in sound engineering it took a lot of effort to learn all that, but it was fun at the same time. During the period when I made the album I was very focused on my music and it was quite intensive. I sat mostly in my studio/bed room and recorded or went to different friends to fulfill my arrangements. It was great fun.

-how would you describe the music of Långt från stadslivets dån?

I guess I would say it is moody music, sometimes with an energetic groove, but always with focus on the melodies. I'm sure you can hear that my sources of inspiration mainly come from the 70s and in particular folk rock bands, but since I like more funky and groovy songs from that period as well I didn't want to confine myself to the folk genre.  

-what about the musicians playing on the record?

All the muscians on the album are my friends and people that I play with in other constellations. When I made the arrangements I thought about which musician would fit which song. After that I travelled to different places to record them. Without all these friends the record would have become something totally different, probably more boring. I like to get new inputs to my music from other minds

and I think the music benefits from that.

-Have you played the music of Långt från stadslivets dån live or do you intend to do it?

Yes I have. Sometimes I have played on my own and that makes the musical expression of my songs very different. Some songs fit better than other for this and I think it's more difficult to play on my own, but at the same time it is a very direct and naked expression to play on your own. When I play with a band the groove is better and the drums give more energy. I prefer to play with a band, but sometimes it's easier and more practical to play on my own. Lately I've been playing with muscians from the Stockholm-based band Lisa and Piu.   

-what about the lyrics? What are the main themes?

The main theme is a critique of modern society. Perhaps I have studied too much sociology and human ecology but I think about society and how it affects our behaviour a lot.

I guess some songs deal more with existential questions but I often write about how the individual is connected to social patterns. In a way you could say that my lyrics are pretty serious and sometimes a bit dark. It is not a very positive image of modern soicety that I portray, but I think about this very often so I think the lyrics say something about me too.

-the album was recorded part in Sweden and part in Shangai, tell us more about that, and especially concerning the Shangai part?

I studied sociology in Shanghai for one semester after recieving a scholarship. After meeting a friend (who was very interested in stocks) in yoga classes at the university, she asked if I wanted to come to a party in a suburb with "creative people living very differently". It sounded interesting so I went along and eventually we ended up in a Chinese hippie collective. The attributes were the same as elsewhere. Long hair, bearded men and colorful clothes. They liked the Doors and the Beatles... One of them was a sound artist

and he told me that he used to record with different sound artists in an oil cisterno close to their home. The day after we went with a shabby rowing boat to the cisterno and improvised with singing, overtone singing, hand claps and my flute. Fortunately another Chinese friend came along and filmed everything with her mobile phone. Back in Sweden I thought the recordings sounded very fascinating so I decided to use parts of them on my album between different songs.   

-was the time you spent in China an inspiration for your music, or not really?

I made some songs in China that later was used on the album, so in some ways I got inspired in China, but at the same time most of the hard work was made back in Sweden.

I had a lot of time for playing in Shanghai, but unfortunately I didn't find the right people to jam with so I mostly played on my own. I can't say I was that inspired by Chinese music. 

-I read that you took musical inspiration from british folk bands of the 70’, how did you get into this kind of music?

Hmmm, I'm not really sure. I think I borrowed a CD with Fairport Convention from the library in my home town and since I liked it a lot I started exploring different bands from that period. When I heard Pentangle and Steeleye Span I found an expression that I had been searching after for a long time without knowing exactely how it would sound. I think it is the direct, organic and restrained expression, quite sensitive but without getting sentimental that I fell for. Somehow it fits very well with my personality.

-is your next record already written? How will it sound?

I will record with musicians from the band Lisa and Piu in late June. I have made a demo for them that they are working with now so it will be very interesting to see what they come up with. Some songs will be more folky than last album and pretty monotonous, while other will be faster and more energetic. None will be that funky as two of the songs on the last album. There will be more clean electric guitar and Wurlitzer piano than last album. In some ways I think the songs are more complex on the new album.      

-what do you plan for 2012?

My plan is to record another album and to stop playing in most of the 10 musical projects i participate in so that I can get more time to my own music and to other things I want to do in life. I will continue to play with the psychedelic forest reggae band Storskogen (means giant forest) though and we will play about ten gigs this Summer.

-which bands playing in a “spirit” close to yours would you recommend?

Youngbloods, Steeleye Span, Espers, Mikael Ramel, Wolf People and In Gowan Ring.

-want to add something?

Not really, thanks for the interview!