 |
|
|
| |
 |
| |
|
Caethua: If the River Dries Up, I May Be Gone For a Long Long Time
|
Saxwand Recordings/Friends and Relatives Records (Saxwand 3)
 A few months ago, I reviewed Caethua’s Village of the Damned CD and finally expressed my wish to hear some more of Clare Hubbard’s gloomy, melancholic, psychedelic and homespun lo-fi folk. This multi-instrumentalist from the Upstate New York answered my call by sending me the If the River Dries Up, I May Be Gone for a Long Long Time vinyl album, and I’m very grateful for that. Nowadays you’re lucky to get a real CD to review, so a vinyl is really special… Her album also includes some great music, I must add.
Both sides of this colored vinyl that comes in a nice, hand-assembled, recycled cover including a lyric sheet have been named separately. A: ”The Rain Cannot Be Bought” includes seven tracks. ”Oily Heat And Muddy Water” has acoustic instruments, tiny tinkling/rhythm, a bit of electronics, great vocals and some psych effects, and is actually a really good song. The gloomy “Cutting Away the Ice” is a short number with vague clatter and harmonic human voice creating a spooky atmosphere. I really like the bit twisted, quite dark psych folk piece ”God How I Miss Her”. Another dark number is the almost instrumental, weird and psychedelic “Like Wind But Not Wind” that includes some small-scale whispered mumble and some horn, probably sax. Executed in a quite interesting way, “Like a Ghost” seems to be coming from behind the ceiling and has in addition to vocals and guitar also some psych layers on its surface. “Young Death” tells how it’s the norm to die young around that area and how the victims of winter are discovered from under the melting ice during spring... Lovely. Having more rhythm and even some flaky energy “Get Along” is like party folk for the dead.
Also the B side “The Dirt Cannot Be Stolen” has seven tracks on it. ”Gone For A Long Long Time” is a magical, acoustic and fantastic folk piece that has a bit ghostly vibe and good vocals. ”The Dark Cannot Say” is a short, more experimental piece and ”If The River Dries Up” a nice Amaricana/folk rock number. The spooky “Across the Atlantic” includes experimental yard-sale electronics and ”On Their Ground” some of late grandma’s ancient, out of tune piano and vocals creating a strange atmosphere. The pretty minimal, gloomy, interesting and a bit experimental, almost instrumental ”The Call Of The St. Lawrence” makes the cold shivers go through your spine. This great album is finished with the acoustic, really good folk song ”Miles And Miles Away” with its deathly, marine lyrics. Although the album was released already two years ago it still seems to be available from the Saxwand web site. It is worth getting, if you’re into dark, experimental and home-made psych folk on vinyl.
www.myspace.com/caethua |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
if you're interested in
getting your records reviewed and played at out club, please
contact:
psychotropiczone(at)gmail.com |
|
|
|
 |
