SeaBuckThorn – In Nightfall 8.0

                SeaBuckThorn is dark. How dark? Well, let’s say Andy Cartwright must write this at night as there’s hardly any light allowed. Listening to this, I’d consider him a practitioner of John Fahey’s concept called “American Primitivism” despite his English roots. John Fahey’s idea behind this phrase was acoustic guitar music would meld together neo-classical with country blues fingerpicking. “In Nightfall” embodies his concept perfectly. 

                We begin with the tactile “Address the Night”. There’s no adornment on here. No other guitar. Other songs possess a little background with an electric guitar, violin, or piano. Most of the time it is a one man show, with Andy playing a lonely tune. “Carrier” is a favorite of mine. Around the one minute mark I’m reminded of Nick Drake’s playing style, sparse, simple, and effective. Hearing the small rhythm emerge makes me extremely happy. “The River Answered” sounds hypnotic. Little flourishes of sound in the background give me the sense of a giant space. 

                At times the sound is nearly silent. “Gone Estray, Being Circled” may be the quietest offering on here. Only occasionally does the volume increase to a near-audible amount. I like how well the name goes with it. An Estray is an animal found wandering or lost. Witnessing it being circled would be much like the effect I hear on this song: quiet, tense, and bleak.

                I liked this album quite a bit. For preparation I had to wait until I could find a quiet enough place. As this is a dark and soft-spoken album, it is best to listen to at night. This is a vivid, unusual album. Not too many artists are interested in this sound right now. Thankfully SeaBuckThorn managed call this niche his own.

Henryspenncer – To the Timeless Valley 7.6

                  “Bookmaker records” is a brand new label offering up French psychedelica. Lately France has been getting some pretty excellent bands emerging, seemingly out of nowhere, with these takes on expansive music. Henryspenncer continues in that proud tradition.

                Valentin Feron’s music is massive. In his own words, he states that it is influenced by Northern Scotland. As someone who has wandered around those parts, I’d say there’s a certain truth to it. The sounds are somewhat inviting despite the sometimes ominous nature. Perhaps that’s due to all the instruments he incorporates, or the slow movement of the pieces themselves.

                There aren’t any loud surprises. Pacing-wise, it has a certain post-rock build. When the loudness or a crescendo does happen, it feels deserved. “An Elevator to Nowhere, with a Pyramid” has a far-off sound. Even as it gets more percussion, it reminds more of a threat than an outright onslaught. 

                If this has any similar bands, I’d probably say latter-day Earth. A western twang is noticeable on most of the pieces, particularly the shorter sketches “Roma” and “Hibernation”. On the closer “The Timeless Valley” Henryspenncer even employs an acoustic guitar and organ.

                Henryspenncer creates a likable album. It exists between drone and outright psychedelic. By incorporating so many different ideas and using a certain degree of discipline, he creates an album that feels well-worked over. Each piece sounds thought through and there are no needless displays of solos. It is just giant sound. Get lost in it and get it here.

Among the Bones/Henryspenncer – Split EP 7.1

                 First off, the album art looks fantastic. I know I don’t focus on it a lot, but it usually takes a certain something to get me to pay attention. The art even does a pretty good job of preparing you for the heavy sounds.

                Henryspenncer and Among the Bones sprawl out quite nicely in this split. “The Amazon” comes first. With multiple movements in its 15 minutes, there’s a definite flow to the song. The beginning starts out with a twanging guitar, which increases in size and intensity. 

                Among the Bones appears to take a quieter route. Beginning with a quiet drone and field recordings, it is the more meditative of the two. Due to the quiet, I’m reminded of Stars of the Lid a few times, in their earlier form. It is a lonelier song than “The Amazon” but the bare bones execution works wonders for it. Plus, the extremely slow pace allows the listener to hear every little detail in perfect detail, though I’d strongly urge a good pair of headphones for this one.

                Bookmaker records just started out, but I think they started off strong. Hopefully they’ll be able to continue this level of quality. Get the whole thing here.