From the ashes of The Hare And The Moon comes Meadowsilver, at least as how I understand it. Grey Malkin continues to be one of the leaders of psychedelic neofolk, and will eventually take his place among acts like the Legendary Pink Dots, Comus and the like.
This is way too small a taste of this new project, of course, so we wait to see what Meadowsilver will produce next.
Being a fan of Current 93 for over 30 years, I have to say that I’ve never heard David Tibet use the term “Hallucinatory Patripassianist rock group” to describe their sound. Apocalyptic folk, neofolk, post-industrial folk, certainly. Experimental? Always. This new name? I’ll have to chew on that for a while. Be that as it may, this is one of the few albums I had not heard until recently, as it was always sold out wherever I looked. Now, it’s in my computer, and I couldn’t be happier.
This incarnation of the band includes the aforementioned Tibet, along with Steven Stapleton of Nurse With Wound and their occasional collaborator, Christoph Heeman (better know for his work with Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa, or H.N.A.S.). All are masters of making sonic alchemy, and the chiming, drifting pieces give one a hallucinatory (as David puts it) feeling. I regret not hearing this album earlier.
Though I loathe that I can’t simply buy a download from Edward Ka-Spel (too many of his latest Bandcamp releases are truncated version so that you’re forced to buy a hard copy, be it vinyl or CD), that’s his prerogative. The music is up to the standards one expects from the Legendary Pink Dots‘ frontman.
Dutch label Seja Records graces us with a magnificent new release by Swedish neofolkers Fatal Casualties. It’s amazing to thing that Stefan Ljungdahl and Ivan Hirvonen have been performing off and on as Fatal Casualties for 30 years now, as the current release is perhaps the freshest, most vibrant music they’ve put out in more than a decade. It’s hard to even consider this neofolk, because it uses so many other genres as a touchstone. One can hear post-punk, goth, dark electronic music, a bit of a soundscape here and there. Ivan’s vocals top the aural cake off beautifully. Kudos to the engineer who managed to balance the sounds perfectly.
This album was released in 2016, but as I came around to it only recently, I’ll gladly consider this a new-ish release. Well worth your time.
Lisa Knapp is, at least for me, a new and rather pleasant voice in English folk music. She makes a huge impression with this traditional tune by pairing up with David Tibet of Current 93 fame.
Russian/Prussian neofolk act Romowe Rikoito interpret a famous work by French poet Gérard de Nerval.
Surrender? Never? Why would you if the ambient music you make is as brutal as that of Karjalan Sissit?!
Dead Can Dance are responsible for a flowering of ethereal music. From labels like Projekt Records to incredible bands, like Irfan, who hail from Bulgaria, they’ve opened the doors to some truly beautiful music.
Focused, raw Apocalyptic Folk from Roses Never Fade, a band who carries the spirit of acts like American Neofolk legends such as Changes and good British psychedelic folk music like Comus.
I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Apocalyptic Folk/Neofolk genre (or Wyrd Music, or whatever it’s called today). Most of the bands sound the same, usually rip off the old masters of the genre like Death In June, Blood Axis or Allerseelen. The music is nice, but not terribly interesting or something I’d come back to for repeated listening.
Enter Roses Never Fade. The music in their latest release, Devil Dust, published on Neuropa Records, comes as a breath of fresh air.
The first five minutes of the release feel a bit like the scene in the Andrei Tarkovsky, when the pilot flies into Solaris. Hazy, crunchy, like driving right into a cloud. Reminiscent of early Industrial soundtracks and Pink Floyd at their most esoteric. Once things become musical, things become very interesting.
Though it may not have been a conscious act, the band sound like they are channeling The Swans/World of Skin/M. Gira, and mixing it with more progressive folk like the legendary Comus. That was what immediately came to mind. Sure, there are also a few vocal styling which remind me of Douglas Peace in his youth, but the material flows nicely, and by about the 7th minute, I feel like I’m hearing elements of The Byrds in their psychedelic country phase.
A unique release. Go here to find more information about the band and Neuropa Records.
© P. Robinson 2004-2022
Iberian record label since 2012.
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