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# YULETIDE CD # the RIVER NEKTAR CD # KLEINE CD-R # Assorted 7" Singles # POOR MINSTRELS Compilation CDs 1 & 2
the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat & the Angel CD Reviews The Iditarod The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat and The Angel Blue Sanct INRI065 CD Although their live shows seem to be heading in some sort of sprawling prog-rock direction, the second album by this Rhode Island combo retains the rustic folk cloud-draping seasoned listeners expect. The band's main shakers are Jeffrey Alexander and Carin Wagner, who also run the Magic Eye record label. Carin's voice haunts the same corridors as those visited by many Brits of the classic UK acid-folk era, while the band wraps things in sheets of pure acoustic trembling, shot through with quivering veins of electric-psych mist. On a couple of tracks there's some extra weight provided by the similarly-minded German duo, Fit & Limo, but the Iditarod really have enough autonomous meat to go it alone. The pieces here (a couple of which are instrumentals) manage to combine the mournfulness of the English folk tradition with the gentle confoundment of early psychedelic explorers in a fine and original way. Like the work of Kendra Smith's Guild of Temporal Adventurers, this music has some similarities to that of previous travelers (stoned, world-wise and earthy), but it collects itself inside a genteel cloud of incense that is unique. There are some songs (like "Cycle Circle") combining the classicist elements with more contemporary-sounding techniques, but the vast majority of this could easily be a lost Harvest label master from the early '70s. And as such, it's a treat and a bargain to boot. - Byron Coley The Wire (UK) review: the Iditarod the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel BlueSanct INRI065 CD From Rhode Island, the Iditarod play a minimal kind of bleak psychedelic folk that owes as much to the somnambulism of Bristol's Movietone as it does to early 70s private press semi-legends like Stone Angel or Caedmon. The time-frozen feel of their slow processionals are further heightened by the subtle use of chimes, tamboura, singing bowl, viola and banjo, which cast little shadows beneath Jeffrey Alexander's guitar picking. Vocalist Carin Wagner sings in a half-monotone as if lost in reverie. She's joined for two tracks by the German folk duo Fit & Limo who play bouzouki, dulcimer, organ and glockenspiel as well as providing vocals. The Iditarod's reading of "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" closely monitors Pentangle's recorded version, while their take on a droning lament "Unfortunate Lass" - the set's highlight - echoes Steeleye Span's masterful "When I Was On Horseback". - David Keenan Rolling Stone review: from "Our Critics' Top Albums of 2002" list the Iditarod The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel (BlueSanct) The vintage British folk-rock-psych sound, taken into the twenty-first century by a Rhode Island group with oodles of instruments. [Listed as #2 in Richie's 2002 Top 10] - Richie Unterberger Core Hotlist (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston) review: the Iditarod the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel (CD) One of a number of bands (In Gowan Ring, Stone Breath, Fit and Limo are others) making interesting music based in folk-type sounds with a healthy amount of experimentation. The Providence, RI duo of Jeffrey Alexander and Carin Wagner creates dark, haunting songs, taking inspiration from British Folk, Eastern music, nature sounds and other not so easily discernable influences. A genre so new nobody seems to know what to call it. . .psychedelic folk, acid folk and wyrd folk have all been used. - Kurt Brennan Opus Zine review: Listening to The Iditarod, it's tempting to thing that you've stumbled across the long lost recordings of some ancient gypsy tribe, that these songs are the last remainders of a wandering folk whose ways and traditions were lost sometime around the Industrial Revolution. In reality, The Iditarod are actually the duo of Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander (with a rotating cast of supporting players) from the wildwoods of Rhode Island. But while their bodies live in New England, their hearts, minds, and songs are clearly still in the Old Country. By Old Country however, I'm not referring to the sort of stuff you see in your finer Renaissance Fairs, so let's get those references out of the way, shall we? The Iditarod is more indebted to the sort of music one can only imagine coming from Germany's Black Forest, the windswept coastlands of Scandinavia, the pastoral highlands of England. While The Iditarod's songs are acoustic-based, they delve quite deeply into atmospherics and psychedelia, especially elements of drone that hint at a middle-eastern influence as well. On "Afternoons Like This Are Hard To Come By", drones circle and hover above starkly plucked acoustic guitars and Wagner's earthy vocals, creating an uneasy tension in the song. It was this tension that made this song the first on the album to really grab me. But once I noticed it, it was nearly impossible to ignore. Meanwhile, "Raga (In D#)" is pure drone; starting off with a moonlit forest journey, the listener suddenly finds themselves transported to desert bazaar in the midst of some manner of religious procession. This sense of unease flows throughout the album, and it reminds you that many of the old folk songs we hear today in fact came from rather dark origins. While they may be sung with jaunty accompaniment, their lyrics take another route. Take, for example, "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme", a warning to young lasses about men and their roving hands. And "The Unfortunate Lass" closes the album on a downbeat note, the story of a woman who lets a man get at her thyme, and winds up losing her life, a la Nick Cave's Mary Bellows. Elsewhere, the sense of tension is traded for one of outright spookiness. "Cycle Circle"'s muffled rhythms and ringing bells sound creepy enough, but Wagner's whispered vocals make it sound rather incantation-like. Although Current 93 and other World Serpent comparisons are fairly valid throughout the entire album, this track makes them almost tangible. Even with the music's creepier explorations, or maybe because of them, there's a spectral quality to this album that's hard to ignore. True, the atmospherics on display in "The Falling Of The Pine" certainly up the album's ephemeral mood. But even the album's earthier aspects give this album a unique feeling. The best example of this is Wagner's voice. While quite lovely, it never delves into the sort of bad Liz Frazier and Lisa Gerrard impersonations you might expect. Rather, I'm reminded of Low's Mimi Parker, whose voice also contains a weary, natural beauty. Wagner's voice has its rough edges, but that just adds to the feeling that you're listening to something ancient and worldly, when people were more conscious of the waxing and waning of the sun and the moon, the courses of the stars, and when an eclipse meant something far more foreboding than just a predictable astronomical occurrence. In many ways, these songs resemble a musical patchwork cloak, with influences stitched together from various sources. At times, it almost looks like the thing will come undone, especially on the first couple of listens. But in time, their simple, otherworldly charms find a way of burrowing under your skin, of winding their way into your imagination. Many similar acts often fall into pretense but The Iditarod's craft and skill make this an entirely natural, authentic listen, regardless of whether their songs were written three years ago or three hundred. Matamore (Belgium) review: Le Fantôme, l’Elfe, le Chat et l’Ange. Vase programme que celui du deuxième album de ces Américains de Rhode Island, The Iditarod et une des photos de pochette les plus belles, inspirante et bucolique. Ca n’étonnera personne, les préoccupations du quatuor sont assez éloignées de celles de toute modernité musicale actuelle. Ils pourraient risquer de tomber dans un revivalisme à la 4AD / This Mortal Coil / Piano Magic ou à la ESP / Pearls Before Swine mais ils s’en gardent également, pas de clins d’œil, pas de tentations avouées. L’univers de The Iditarod est plutôt un quelque part à situer aux confins des territoires d’Appendix Out et de Movietone, une sorte de lien manquant mais pas seulement ça. The Iditarod ne se contente pas de remplir une case, il défriche coûte que coûte, aussi avant gardiste que porteur de racines profondes, à la recherche d’une expression intime et pleine de sens, troubadours folk et mélancoliques des temps modernes. Leur musique est le résultat d’un travail complexe, ils s’emploient à revivre des sensations enfouies, à réinvestir certaines pulsions ancestrales découvertes dans des musiques traditionnelles et nous les rapporter. Ecouter ‘the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel’ c’est comme goûter l’eau froide d’un calice qu’on est allé remplir à la fontaine d’une vallée enfouie au coeur de la montagne, jadis habitée mais retournée à la vie sauvage. Quand The Iditarod s’ouvre à une démarche plus expérimentale, utilisant l’électronique, ce n’est jamais dans une perspective hi-tech ou strictement rythmique idm ou néo-new wave, non, c’est en embrassant globalement une sphère d’émotions, d’inspirations, de sentiments et de retenue. Totalement à part, plutôt inventeurs d’un nouveau genre que nouveau groupe dans la masse. C’est le genre de disque qui comblera tout à fait les fans de musique slowcore, d’un certain folk seventies enfoui ou de lointaine inspiration gothique, à la recherche d’une musique somnambule, hors des sentiers battus, faite de mises en perspective, de poésie et d’humilité The Iditarod fait œuvre de musique légère et volatile, rêveuse mais terrienne, qui sait tirer de nouvelles chose d’un assemblage des plus vastes et originaux, fait de guitares, chants, verres à vin, moog, tambourin, sonnettes, cymbales à doigts, chimes, banjo, phonograph, singing bowl, electronics, percussions, viole, bouzouki, dulcimer, orgue, musical saw ou encore glockenspiel. Ils vont plus loin que l’énorme majorité des groupes dans cette recherche et direction, mais cela ne se traduit jamais par un effet d’esbrouffe, chaque instrument, chaque sonorité trouve sa place dans l’ensemble sans chercher à attirer l’attention sur lui. Folk déconstruit mais à la recherche de nouveaux standards propres. Même si Carin Wagner est la voix de quasi tous les morceaux, elle sait avec talent ne pas prendre le leadership du groupe et s’inscrire au cœur d’une direction musicale plus globale. Ni trop terrienne, ni trop éthérée, elle choisit la demi-ombre pour s’ouvrir telle une fleur fragile aux couleurs fortes et douces. The Iditarod offre autre chose que des chansons, un univers sans pareil, hanté, mystérieux et chaleureux, une densité rare, une luminosité nette, on sent la chaleur du soleil sur notre visage, on détourne les yeux du soleil, on cherche le repos sous les branches d’arbre, assis sur de vieilles pierres à contempler ce qui nous entoure. S’il y a du psychédélisme alors il est léger, il est dans la recherche d’atmosphères propres à celles qu’on imagine retrouver au cœur des vieilles forêts d’Europe, mais quand même cousin lointain de celui plus expérimental que l’on retrouve chez Six Organs of Admittance ou Steffen Basho Junghans. ‘The Roots of the butterfly bush’ est une entrée en matière faite en douceur, folk song fiévreuse, on la suit comme on pénètre à l’intérieur d’une forêt par un petit sentier accueillant et sinueux mais qui peut être aura trop vite fait de nous perdre. Le violoncelle fait office de lampe que l’on suit dans le lointain, que l’on essaie vainement d’atteindre. On imagine presque entendre le frémissement des feuilles. La chanson est dédiée à « Dust », un chat mort qui accompagna un temps la vie de Carin Wagner. Peut-être que quelque part encore l’âme du chat erre dans la forêt à la chasse de quelque rongeur. Suit un court morceau instrumental, ‘Black strung bow’, un peu raga, un peu expérimental. Nouvelle folk song à la tension sous-jacente, ‘Afternoon like this are hard to come by’ où The Iditarod nous laisse voir son empire de nuances et l’étendue de son talent. Une plage de sept minutes qui n’a rien à envier à Movietone. Lente déambulation, mélodie méditative, chant chaleureux qui invite à fermer les yeux pour imaginer des paysages ruraux ou forestiers, une certaine nature libre et épanouie. Composition hantée qui nous laisse déambuler dans son univers. Quelques instants pour échapper à la réalité et se perdre dans un autre monde. Sur l’instrumental ‘Raga (in D#)’, The Iditarod explore une sphère plus expérimentale, drone bucolique de plus de six minutes où les percussions rappellent le chant de criquets et ou le violoncelle évoque les craquements qu’un grand arbre peut produire lorsque soumis à un vent léger. Un peu moins de sept minutes d’abandon et de rêverie, sieste d’après-midi d’été, adossé à un arbre, quelque part au milieu de nulle part, à mi-chemin d’une randonnée. Le genre d’instants que l’on voudrait éternel et où s’échappant quelques instants du monde, on se prend à rêver à de vieilles légendes. Un peu plus de modernité avec ‘Cycle circle’, manipulations électroniques et voix tendant vers l’incantation avec un léger parfum gothique réminiscent de certaines productions du label Kranky. Flotte une atmosphère d’inquiétude et de danger propre aux confessions intimes. Suit la plus longue plage du disque, ‘The Falling of the pine’ qui s’étend sur un peu moins de dix minutes, longue folk song enveloppante et envoûtante, le genre dans lequel The Iditarod excelle et trouve sa place justifiée entre le confort acoustique d’Appendix Out et l’éther protégé de Movietone, au cœur de la forêt, porteur d’une lampe fragile que le vent menace à tout moment d’éteindre. Légère inquiétude mais en même temps confiance profonde accordée à la forêt et à ses esprits, l’inspiration d’origine vient d’une vieille chanson traditionnelle danoise. ‘Ich Tanzte Weit’ est une collaboration avec le duo allemand Fit & Limo. Une mélodie à la guitare jouée par Jeffrey Alexander de The Iditarod sur laquelle les Allemands on ajouté le reste : bouzouki, chant, dulcimer, orgue et glockenspiel. Le résultat est vibrant, un peu féerique même et donne envie de connaître un peu mieux ce que ces Allemands composent eux-mêmes. Improvisation à la guitare passée au travers d’expérimentations électroniques, ‘New Magic In a dusty world’ joue à merveille son rôle de respiration et d’intermède, deux minutes durant. The Iditarod montre alors pour la fin du disque un visage plus ancestral en reprenant un traditionnel folk, ‘Let No Man steal your thyme’ peut-être moins passionnant que leurs chansons propres mais ajoutant une dimension supplémentaire à leur riche panel évocateur. Nouvelle plage improvisée et instrumentale avec ‘the nameless one’ où l’on réalise combien celles-ci ont finalement d’importance dans l’équilibre global du disque, respirations et instants de rêveries dont le plus grand intérêt est d’accroître la densité de l’ensemble et son haut pouvoir de dépaysement. Il est déjà alors temps de se séparer avec une dernière chanson traditionnelle, ‘the unfortunate lass’ ou The Iditarod embrasse plus que nulle part d’autre sur l’album la geste folk seventies. Magnifique album au total qu’on ne saurait trop conseiller à tout fan de songwriting profond, mélancolique et rêveur. The Iditarod est un groupe à suivre absolument, à la fois héritier des traditions ancestrales et porteur d’un souffle nouveau. Nightwaves (Canada) review: The Iditarod hail from Rhode Island, and they consist of the duo of Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander. The music on this CD is very quiet and understated, sort of a modern spin on folk, imbued with a surreal, storybook feel. Many of the vocals are nearly whispered, and much of the music is quietly acoustic and introspective. This CD is wonderfully understated, haunting and sometimes morose. This is essentially a journey into the dark recesses of the soul. It abounds with strings and echoey vocals and it overflows with an olde world warmth and mystery. Recommended. Blow Up (Italy) review: J. Alexander playing string instruments (all of them) and electronics and Carin Wagner singing: Iditarod are a "duo" - apart from occasional featurings - they come from Rhode Island and this is their 3rd release. They play an unusual experimental folk that can make you think about the English bands of the '70s (bands like Fairport Convention) but they add to the ballads with a slightly medieval touch, traditionals, raga, deconstructed folk (they add) some 90s vibes: camera (camera classical music) and melancholic tunes that can resemble Rachel's ("The Roots Of The Butterfly Bush"), psychedelic meditations ("Afternoon Like These..."), blackened electronic whispers ("Raga in D#"), reversed (sounds) and experimentalisms ala Movietone (literally extraordinary "Cycle Circle" and "The Falling of the Pine"), variations and mutations that reach minimalistic music "environment" ("Unfortunate Lass"). An incredible attention to the tinyest sound and their instrumental touch "lightness" (truly unusual in these music era), which is spread throughout their record, build a puzzled (amazingly surprised) atmosphere but not "fiabesque" (is an adjective that is linked to "fairytale" which is "Fiaba" in Italian), strong as it was an ancient Moral Duties Book made up of acoustic pureness that could only come out from New England - home country of the duo. If you love avant-folk absolutely do not to miss this shy and full of light jewel. marks: 8\10. Magnet Magazine review: (a split review with Landing) From Connecticut and Rhode Island, respectively, Landing and the Iditarod are enamored, in their own idiosyncratic ways, with the mind-expansion qualities of delicate space rock. No surprise, then, that both are slated for this year's Terrastock fest in Boston; their open-ended communal aesthetic is the very antithesis of the Ozz/Warped Nation. Landing specializes in thick ambient-inclined compositions generally wrought via heavily treated guitar passages and laced by unobtrusive synths. [additional Landing kudos here] The Iditarod, by contrast, comes from a more acoustic headspace, tapping into the acid-folk genre and suggesting, at times, a mini-chamber orchestra performing Incredible String Band and Pearls Before Swine tunes. Yet for every chilled breath of ethereality such as the downcast cello/guitar/voice "The Roots Of The Butterfly Bush", there's a hypnotic whoosh of psychedelic rune-digging ("Black Strung Bow" sounds like the in-between bits from Jefferson Airplane's lysergic epic After Bathing At Baxter's) or a sleek cosmic hoedown (the deft, overlapping fingerpicking motifs of "The Nameless One" are distinctively John Fahey-esque). Simultaneously medieval and modern, the Iditarod's elusive eclecticism breeds, as does Landing's gentle charisma, nothing but smiles, vibes and harmony among listeners. - Fred Mills OOR (Netherlands) review: the Iditarod the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel (BlueSanct/Konkurrent) So Boards Of Canada has a connection with folk? Even better: strictly speaking they sometimes even make folk, but then putting it thoroughly in an electronic merry-go round? Funny, because already there have been voices raised to see Autechre and Aphex Twin as a new kind of traditional music. I want to agree with this view, but I don't expect soon to see the average "spacehead" enjoying a record of The Incredible String Band. This "The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat And The Angel" coming from the Americans The Iditarod however could function as the ideal ear-, eye- & mind opener. In a beautiful place out in the country different kinds of (apocalyptic) folk fade out into drones full of melancholic sounds, where further and further in the distance forest sounds, troubadour guitars and carefree flower children are echoing. The cat lays in your lap. But where are the ghost, elf and angel? In devilish details, like the slightly exorcising woman's singing, the medieval themes and the almost sublime application of minked electronics, that keep you constantly in a state between being asleep and wakeful. No where it is cheerful, pleasantly melancholic on the other hand always and everywhere. Broken Face (Sweden) review: the Iditarod the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and… BlueSanct CD, 4/5 stars There's no way I can count them all, the stories and legends I made up as a kid while I was walking in the forest right next to my family's house. It wasn't necessarily one of those mysterious forests with ancient trees, rather a green area that some clever city planner thought it'd be a nice idea to save from exploitation. No matter that, I always felt at home there. That was where I found solace at dark times and those gigantic silhouettes seemed like the perfect setting for my imaginary stories. I have a feeling Providence ensemble the Iditarod shares my affection for trees, as their folky soundworld in a strange way brings me back to those innocent days. In "The Roots Of The Butterfly Bush" an acoustic guitar slowly finds its way through the trees and in its footprints Carin Wagner's vocals envelope fogbanks of spectral mystery. As the cello comes and goes the roots of the tree I'm staring at seem to be moving right before my eyes. The album is overflowing with intensely beautiful folk songs that have probably existed all throughout musical history, but it takes musical geniuses like these people to know where to find them and make their own unique interpretation of the style. In addition to this, we get the instrumental masterpiece "Raga (In D#)" which would have fit perfectly on Pelt's milestone double album Ayahuasca. Given my praise of that recording you should know that you are in for some serious inner mind exploration if you turn this one up loud, which I fully endorse you to do. Other tracks find them getting lost (in a good way) and found somewhere in-between the structured and the droning. This is one of the finest recorded musical moments of 2002. Dark and majestic yet fragile, just like nature itself. - Mats Gustafsson Dusted Magazine review: the Iditarod The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat and the Angel The best folk album of the last 15 years. Being the nicest people on Earth doesn't hurt either. - Thomas Guttadauro Kashmir / Lowlife (Japan) review: These sad melodies are impressive; might be on the genealogy of folk / traditional music. With various instruments -- wine glasses, banjo, moog, dulcimer, musical saw -- make array to tapestry a fairy tale, at the same time, these tunes paint an "atmosphere of ruins" like Hood's "The Cycle of Days and Seasons". This is 2nd full-length of their releases, I guess. Rate Your Music review (#1): 4.5/5 stars It should be duly noted that I received this album only a month ago, and am still having it in heavy rotation. However, I am blown away by the psychedelic and pastoral beauty of the music! Elements are present of various kinds of traditional folk music and subtle electronic manipulation. This is highly recommended to fans of Current 93 and In Gowan Ring, but should appeal to those who enjoy melancholy singer / songwriter music or anyone with a taste for experimental music as well. This is music to go dreamwalking by. Rate Your Music review (#2): 5/5 stars Jesus, this is one amazing record! These folks from Rhode Island take the whole Fairport Convention/Pentangle/Collins Sisters thing and update it, then record it themselves with production values almost identical to "Grantchester Meadows" by Pink Floyd(!). Gorgeous female vocals, really almost up to a Sandy Denny level. Warm acoustic guitars, theremin, and wine glasses (!) are used to chilling effect. The standout track is "The Falling Of The Pines", a traditional logging song that the band has arranged for themselves. It's both beautiful and frightening, and conveys a bleak sense of doom akin to being lost in a neverending forest. I cannot believe how brilliant this record is, easily the top recent folk/psych release, probably of the last 15 to 20 years. Uh-huh, it's that good. All Music Guide review: the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat, and the Angel AMG Rating: 4/5 stars Though they're from Rhode Island, the duo comprising Iditarod (Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander) sound quite a bit like a British psychedelic-tinged folk or folk-rock act. Those enamored of the sound of vintage artists in that tributary, like Donovan, the Incredible String Band, and Pentangle — and of more recent artists that obviously owe something to that style, like Robyn Hitchcock and (far more obscurely) Damien Youth — might well be inclined to enjoy this record, though it's not explicitly imitative of any of those artists. While the music's often acoustic guitar-based, the pair play a pretty impressive range of instruments on this CD, from moog and wine glasses to tamboura, singing bowl, and chimes, with some other musicians adding touches on cello, recorder, bouzouki, and more. As the title indicates, there's a mythological-stroll-in-the-forest tinge to their approach, with some electronic effects and backwards-distorted guitar lines adding a bit of psychedelia, without ever submerging the essentially folky ambience. They may be mood-setters more than they are songwriters, but the mood's a good one: melancholy, subdued, and slightly eerie folk-rock, with quite a bit of varied texture, and an avoidance of the drone and monotony that afflict many other bands working similar territory. The vocals, as befits such material, are suitably fragile and wistful, if not exceptional, broken up by haunting instrumentals that have a touch of exotic (sometimes Indian) mystery. - Richie Unterberger Les Inrockuptibles (France) review: A Rhode Island, l'humour cinglé des frères Farrelly n'a pas contaminé le folk majesteux mais ténébreux de The Iditarod. Et pour cause : ces ménestrels vivent au Moyen Age, alchimistes transformant la chanson de geste (ample et généreux) en psychédélisme des champs. Que le groupe voue un culte fervent au prog-rock ésotérique de King Crimson ou au folk chatoyant de Pearls Befor Swine ne le rend que plus mystérieux et fascinant. Amazon.com review: the Iditarod Ghost Elf Cat & Angel 5/5 stars I've only listened to this one a couple times, but it is already my favorite recording from this Rhode Island based duo (plus guests.) The Iditarod does something in modern psychedelic music that many people are not--creatively exploring the lyrical side of European folk. I'm not saying they are doing European folk songs, but rather, what they are doing feels closer to that tradition than anything else. But do not think this is anything less than exploratory underground folk music--much akin to Six Organs of Admittance, Charalambides (when they choose to do folk) and even the frentic folk underground of Japan (Mikami, Tomokawa, Inaba). Beautiful, melancholic, with extraordinary vocals by Carin and equally compelling guitar work by Jeffrey--'Ghost, Cat, et al.' is perhaps the best starting point for The Iditarod, and probably the most readily available. T.O.P.I. (France) review: THE IDITAROD have also a place ov honour on BlueSanct, thanks to their second opus, "The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat & The Angel" revivalizing coum idealized Middle Ages with a great many banjos, mandolins, recorders, tambourines et tsetse rat. In-deed, the instrumentation is so rich and its use so subtle at thee same time, thee haunting threnodies tend to take a life ov their own even when thee record's over, hence bewitching thee listener's sailing mind. A tiny D.I.Y. and brilliantly unwedged, this orchancestral folk is candidly beautiful and elated by Carin's sickly singing/sinking exercises. In short, it is by far thee most essential production ov wyrd-folk (and coums right after PSYCHIC TV's "Dreams Less Sweet" in my TOPi list); a divine and autumnal invitation, or rather anticipation, ov thee fall... La Musique (Sweden) review: The Iditarod The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel BlueSanct/Border 9/10 stars In the mid 70's, there was a wave of folk sounding music rolling in from the underground. Bands and solo artists turned to the treasures of traditional material and arranged their finds in their own way. A couple of the bands became figureheads for it all, most notably British acts Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. The rest of Europe had their own folk rock acts, many of them good enough to compete with their British role models. And back home in the UK, the commercially more successful bands saw obscure followers like Stone Angel, Tickawinda and Brandywine Bridge put out their own albums in a DIY spirit a couple of years before the punk movement. Something similar is going on today, although no band is on the same level commercially as the Fairports or the Steeleyes. It would be an exaggeration to call it a 'movement', but there are nevertheless plenty of bands searching among the roots and getting inspiration from how folk music was performed in the 70's. This music is spread through the Internet and by small but enthusiastic distributors, and recognized by specialized magazines like the Ptolemaic Terrascope in Britain, the Dream Magazine in the States and the Broken Face in Sweden. The new bands have names like Fit & Limo, the Story of Arden and Stone Breath, hailing from Germany, Sweden and the States respectively. USA is in fact the leading nation of 'the new folk'. One of the best acts is Rhode Island quartet the Iditarod. They've released several CD-R's, 45's and even a cassette only album! 'The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel' is their second factory produced CD, and their best effort thus far. Listening to it is like watching the world refracted through a drop of rain; it's familiar and peculiar at the same time. An acoustic guitar lays the foundations with care, a cello sigh with a breath earthly strong, a harsh viola. the eerie whine of a tamboura. And on top of it, Carin Wagner's vocals with a hushed strength that reminds me of Shirley Collins. The music invites you, but with an uncanny feel. Like a dream, in earthly brown, fuzzy purple and green with a strange luster. Just a glance at the song titles creates an obscure yet elevated atmosphere: 'The Roots of the Butterfly Bush'. 'The Falling of the Pine'. 'The Nameless One'. Most songs are originals, but with proud traditional leanings. One song, 'Let No Man Steal Your Thyme', sees the Iditarod enter the british folk music in full. There are a lot of different recordings of that song, but few of them generate such a captivating mood with such a transparent arrangement. Only the purest of puritans - if there are any left at all - would be annoyed by how 'The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel' treats the musical roots. The rest of us should be cheerful that the Iditarod bring the history into the new millenium with such ease and excellence. Psyche Van Het Folk (Belgium) review: The Iditarod: the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel (US, 2002) 4/5 stars A beautiful release in balance with its moods, inventions, psychedelic tension, quite dreamy folk trance explorations, songs, and this completely acoustic. Recommended and with no doubt the best release of The Iditarod. I heard in my radio program already how talented this band really is. In the beginning after having heard their first release I still wondered how much because they balanced there between lo fi, sleepy experimenting and psychedelic folk. Their singles showed a much more powerful expression. And here also they adapted so much ideas to be in balance with all elements and areas involved and interested in, defining a creation of a beautiful atmosphere. The music can be described as a crossing between In Gowan Ring at its best with Fit and Limo, with some hints to Algärnas Trädgard. The CD has been made with the help of Fit & Limo thanks to mailing recordings. The whole recordings flows from one part of the story into the next. Music to dream away by. It was really hard task for me to pick out tracks for air play. - Gerald Van Waes Exclaim! (Canada) review: the Iditarod The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel The disc starts off with a coffeehouse feel to it - guitar, vocals and bongo percussion - giving the sense of that intimate, hippie-folk-type of performance. Thankfully a truer impression, comes after a few more numbers. The Iditarod are actually more of a dark folk project. With all of their instrumentation (cello, viola, Moog, tomboura, dulcimer, glockenspiel, chimes, bells) they even have a medieval feel to them. They do both traditional and original numbers and the overall atmosphere is very tranquil and settling, but the collection of instruments keeps the CD from getting boring (and showcases their immense talent as well). Carin Wagner has an unpolished, almost off-key quality to her vocals, but they are a refreshing break from the more dramatic style often heard in this genre. "Cycle Circle" is an interesting listen, as they explore a very sparse, industrial, non-musical approach to songwriting. - Coreen Wolanski Performer Mag review: The Iditarod - The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel With the deluge of obscuro, lost-classic, psychedelic/folk/prog reissues that flood into record stores and disappear as quickly, it's not such a huge surprise to find this Providence duo has found a home in the murky deluge of those woebegone days. The Iditarod has a sound that relates more to Fairport Convention on an Indian escapade than it does any current movements in music. The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel is wonderfully recorded: even when it picks up the sound of a twig snapping as someone retreats after setting the mic to pick up the sound of crickets, it just sets you to really listening to the track. Carin Wagner is the focal point of all of these attentions though. She has a wavering voice that strives to become Linda Thompson but is not quite as bold and resonant, but the frailties serve to strengthen the whole song. The rest of the band weaves these intricate tunes that sometimes seem as familiar as Robin Hood and his Merry Men. This is the music you should envision as Robin sneaks into town to witness despair before turning his loot over and holding a great feast. Wagner's musical foil is Jeffrey Alexander; he composes most of the music on this disc, and the tunes he doesn't are traditional ones that he arranges. Between the two of them, they are listed as playing guitar, singing bowl, wine glasses, moog, tamboura, bell, phonograph, finger cymbals, chimes, woodface banjo, and electronics. If ever the band opened up and got lost in a grand tribute to Comus, then maybe we'd have some really special fire smoldering. The Iditarod do make the past sound alive seen through the filter of today with music that seems like someone let John Cage edit a collection of medieval folk tunes. Boa (UK) review: Breathtaking album from the Iditarod - haunting darkwoods folk with one foot in the folk-psych camp and some gorgeous hypnotic, ebbing instrumentation. - Gayle Brogan Sentire Ascoltare (Italy) review: Iditarod The Ghost, The Elf… Tra gli apocalittici questo gruppo tenta il colpaccio riallacciandosi direttamente al maestro Tibet (Current 93) di Thunder Perfect Mind. Arcane ballate che nascondono il maligno ...fanno venire i brividi. Providence Phoenix review (#1): There's a risk involved in making purposefully quiet music: what if the sighs and whispers don't have enough power to command someone's heart? What if the minimalism is literally minimal? The Iditarod have found a way out of that cul de sac. The local ensemble's the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel (BlueSanct) has enough Eno-esque fluidity behind its loopy acoustica to always be peppering the music with compelling bits of experimentalism. While it can seem benign -- a grand drift into dreamland was the result of one listen this past weekend at our house -- there's a nice sense of drama threaded through the tunes. - Jim Macnie Rockerilla (Italy) review: the Iditarod "The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel" Blue Sanct Molto piu distese e sognanti, invece, le atmosfere disegnate dagli Iditarod, interessante formazione wyrd-folk proveniente dalla lovecraftiana Providence, che con "The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel" giunge al secondo album. Come si pub intuire, l'ambientazione e quella dei racconti fatati e le musiche, a tratti davvero suggestive, si richiamano al retaggio medioevale come alIa tradizione folk europea piu eclettica, dall'lncredible String Band ai Comus. Tratteggiate dalle suggestive vocals di Carin Wagner che si adagiano sugli elaborati tappeti sonori tessuti da archi, chitarre acustiche, banjo e moog, le composizioni dell'album invitano allo straniamento atemporale e, in particolare nel caso di "Black String Bow" e "Ich Tantze Weit" -che vedono l'intervento dell'ensemble folk-psych tedesco Fit & Limo -e della vision aria "The Falling of the Pine", riescono letteralmente a ricreare l'ambientazione delle corti medioevali, con dame e cavalieri che danzano a suon di dulcimer, liuto e glockenspiel. Se cercate l'innovazione rivolgetevi decisamente altrove ma se siete attratti dalle atmosfere del folk piu desueto e oscuro, questo e un disco davvero colmo di fascino. Providence Phoenix review (#2): The Iditarod: The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat, and the Angel (Blue Sanct) With influences as diverse as British folk music of the '60s (Fairport, Nick Drake, the Incredible String Band) and lo-fi indie rock (Palace, Cat Power) of the '90s, the Iditarod has always been an exhilarating and compelling listen. And so it is with the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat, and the Angel, the band's third disc. For the most part, the album is a collection of minimalist acoustic music, hinging on Carin Wagner's eggshell delicate vocals and Jeffrey Alexander's stringed instruments. Songs like the seven-minute-plus "Afternoons Like This Are Hard to Come By" and "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" are unfathomably sad and profoundly melancholic, in the tradition of the ancient folk music of the UK. On the other hand, there's a healthy helping of noise here that gives the disc a pre-psychedelic quality. Songs like the deeply percussive "Cycle Circle" and the equally menacing "Raga (in D#)" add an unpredictable dimension that keep the listening experience off-balance, not to mention edgy. Recorded with Jesse Poe this past summer in Virginia and integrated with some home music experiments, the Ghost, the Elf, the Cat, and the Angel is an achievement that has had international repercussions. The band, along with a few likeminded friends, recently embarked on a traveling eccentric folk carnival for a few weeks of kaleidoscopic troubadourian bliss with great success. No, the sound isn't for everyone, but for those of you looking into the darker corners of acoustic music for a little under-the-radar titillation you would do well to find your way to this gem. - Bob Gulla Dream Magazine review: This was partially recorded by our contributor Jesse Poe of Tanakh, and anyone familiar with his ear for acoustic resonance will be delighted to hear this. There are also a couple pieces Rhode Island couple Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander assembled through the mail with German duo Fit & Limo... The feeling is crickets chirping in the corner, ghost frail moonlit mostly female vocals casting warmth and light out of the darkest heart of a deep forest. A kind of folk music that feels as sinister as it does reassuring. Is this a dream or a nightmare? Twilight sounds and Autumnal breezes blow, time and life is measured out in eloquent moments of interaction. All children of Fahey high on splendor and existence, spilling silver light out of rapturous enfolding darkness. Lovely hallucinatory suspenseful dream music of the highest order, and their finest moment to date. - George Parsons Göteborgsposten (Sweden) review: The Iditarod /The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat and the Angel (Blue Sanct/Border) 4/5 stars Folkpsyk. Iditarod is a sleigh-riding contest in Alaska. The band of the same name does not consist of inuits. Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander, based in Providence, RI creates, with some friends, music bordering psychedelia and folk music. Wagner sings in an evocative manner of ghosts and afternoons by the sea. Violin, cello, vocals, saw, moog, fingerpicking guitars and Indian instruments rattles and caresses and it all evokes the mystical feeling of an Edgar Allan Poe story. Beside self-penned songs, the record features three traditional folk songs of which "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" is the strongest. Noize (Austria) review: Iditarod - The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat… Spaciger Folk im Zeitlupentempo Man stelle sich eine Kollaboration der Psychedelic Folker The Incredible String Band und der deutschen Chanteuse Nico vor, um in etwa der geheimnisvollen Musik auf "The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat And The Angel", dem zweiten Album von Iditarod, näherzukommen. Obwohl der minimalistische Sound von akustischen Gitarren und unterkühltem weiblichen wie männlichen Gesang dominiert wird, setzt die Gruppe um Carin Wagner und Jeffrey Alexander ein Sammelsurium an weiteren Instrumenten ein. Dumpfe Bässe, knarziges Cellos, klirrende Weingläser, helle Glöckchen, verzerrte Moogs und elektronische Klangeffekte tragen ihren Teil bei den Hörer in eine Welt fern ab vom Alltag irgendwo zwischen melancholischer Besinnung und märchenhaftem Traum zu verführen. Genau darin, im Verbreiten von Stimmungen also, liegt die Stärke dieser sonderbaren Combo aus Providence, Rhode Island. Beim Songwriting hingegen hapert es. Viel zu brüchig und skizzenhaft, kopflastig und verschroben kommen die elf Stücke daher, um den an solchen Tönen kaum gewöhnten Hörer zu erreichen. Da retten auch die wunderlichen Melodien, die sich immer mal wieder aus all dem Schwerverdaulichem emporschrauben, nur wenig. Dass das aus der Nürnberger Neo-60ies Rock Band Shiny Gnomes hervorgegangene Duo Fit & Limo an den beiden Stücken "Black Strung Bow" und "Ich Tanzte Weit" beteiligt war, bleibt interessante Randnotiz. Demnach kann "The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat And The Angel" allenfalls Liebhabern von leisetretendem Psychedelic-Folk empfohlen werden oder all jenen welche es noch werden wollen. Soit dit en Passant (France) review: The Iditarod - The Ghost, the elf, the cat and the angel (Blue Sanct/Import) Un folk hanté et obsédant, une voix fantomatique en velours, The Iditarod livre un album évocateur, parfois effrayant. Sombres, les avancées lyriques (et parfois simplement suggérées à coup de notes subtiles d'accordéon ou de guitare) nous font traverser des paysages lugubres, ceux d'une nuit sans lune. Les chants de Carin Wagner sont doux et mystérieux. Un Palace féminin et légèrement expérimental, qui fait emprunter à l'auditeur des tunnels parfois traversé chez Cat Power (à l'époque des premiers albums) ou chez Movietone. Dépouillées et minimalistes, les compositions s'enchaînent subrepticement, sans fracas et dans une unité que pas mal de groupes doivent envier. Les passages instrumentaux, dignes de Empress, font aussi la particularité de cet album plus que recommandable. Rate : 8/10 Konkurrent (Netherlands) review: the Iditarod The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat And The Angel Blue Sanct INRI 065 cd Springerige neo-folk. Een melan- cholieke viool en een hysterische zangeres maken van Iditarod een band die de meningen zal verdelen: als men niet wordt meegesleept dan werken ze op de zenuwen, maar als men wordt gegrepen dan is Iditarod fascine- rend. Referenties: Cat Power, Movietone, Fairport Convention en King Crimson. Yuletide (2002-2003) CD Reviews the Iditarod and Sharron Kraus Yuletide Elsie and Jack CD You know those times when you put a record on and close your eyes, and then open them again and you can't tell whether you've listened to the record or not? I'm having them more often recently. Partly it's because the day job is getting too intense and I can barely do anything except slump in my chair when I get in. But mostly it's because I'm listening to the Iditarod a lot. Imagine that a band snuck into Heaven and clipped a few blades of grass, took a glassful of water from a river and a handful of earth from a shady corner of God's garden. Once they'd floated back down to earth, they strung their instruments with the grass, passed the water around and took a few sips each and scattered the earth on the floor of the rehearsal room. And then they started to play music, music from the past, music from stone cottages, from fishing villages, from field workers, from the working folk. Folk music. And the music was good. Exceptionally good. It somehow fused the devotion of the true believer with the authenticity of a scholar and the sound of an accordion slowly exhaling. You can't imagine that? No problem, it's out on Elsie and Jack shortly. - Jimmy Possession All Music Guide review: The Iditarod regularly released limited edition turn-of-the-year discs - this particular effort, from Yuletide 2002-2003, is a full collaboration with like-minded spirit Sharron Kraus and a variety of guest musicians. Unsurprisingly the emphasis is on dark folk inspirations blended with inspirations ranging from psychedelic production to lo-fi bedroom touches, a combination of invention and intimacy. It's not so much a holiday album as a soundtrack for, as the liner notes say, 'the darkest evenings of the year' - one reason why opening cut "The Trees Are All Bare" is so untraditional a Yule song but still perfectly atmospheric, snippets of gongs, bells, sitars and more swirling in a mysterious introductory collage. As might be guessed, a multiplicity of instruments also appear throughout - Jeffrey Alexander is credited with everything from woodface banjo to strumstick and electronics - while Kraus's work on clarinet, tinwhistle and piano fits in smoothly with the haunted blends the collective creates. The texturing and combination of instruments results in many breathtaking moments - the bubbling, murky electronic undercurrent to "Gift" suddenly contrasted by the warmth of vocals and banjo, the country-blues twang on the extended conclusion of "Winter's Spell" offset by the coolest and moodiest of keyboards ever. Kraus and Carin Wagner's harmonies for many will be the reason to listen in - they work beautifully together, while adding just enough individual flair to make the experience all the richer. "Lyke Wake Dirge" lives up to its title musically but Kraus and Wagner's chanting is somehow still strangely sprightly, or at least as sprightly as a dirge can be. - Ned Raggett Psyche Van Het Folk (Belgium) review: The Iditarod and Sharron Kraus : Yuletide (US/UK, 2003) 4/5 stars I looked forward very much to this release because I know what both the Iditarod and Sharron Kraus have made before and a combination of both talents should be promising. The CD is as beautiful as expected, also very nicely produced. With a beautiful semi-acoustic intro, "The Trees are all bare", a beautiful mixture of triple vocals, the sitar like droning of the tampura, echoed variedly coloured sounds of percussion, flutes, and something that sounds like a mixture of a harmonium with a harmonica ?. It's a song that instrumentally sounds like a nightly Sufi-inspired lucid dream travel, but with a 70's UK Folk edge in song. The version of The Iditarod with Sharron Kraus of the traditional "Lyke Wake Dirge" with harmonic voices, tribal drum, electric finger picking guitar and effects, and accordion with clarinet ? is magical. The next track "Gift" starts with beautifully describing experimental acoustic and collage sounds, then continues with a ballad sung by a fragile angelic voice accompanied by finger picking and textured ambient sounds, and further on some clarinet and watery and airy sounds. Also "Winter's Spell" is of a similar beauty. The instrumental part with fingerpickinging banjo with flute, bass and sparse cymbal percussion gives again a magical mood, reminiscent of the Timothy Renner project 'The Spectral Light and Moonshine Firefly Snakeoil Jamboree'. The instrumental textures in between are beautiful too, as experimental mini-overtures. "Wintermute", with piano, and background instruments, reminds me a lot at groups like Midwinter and of the Mellow Candle demo on the Kissing Spell label. Made with an ear for musicality in sound. The magical era of UK underground folkrock has been revived. Iditarod with Sharron Kraus have succeeded in becoming a new landmark. Highly recommended. - Gerald Van Waes the Iditarod The River Nektar Bluesanct INRIO71 CD When it arrived earlier this year, The Iditarod's The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat And The Angel CD appeared to come out of nowhere - a stunning acid folk record that evoked the revenant forms of Sandy Denny and Anne Briggs while simultaneously connecting with much of what was going on beneath the sidewalks of the USA such as the likes Of Charalambides and Fursaxa. Now this reissue of their 1998 debut, completed with a clutch of bonus tracks, shows up to deepen the puzzle, On The River Nektar you can clearly hear The Iditarod moving towards the inspired synthesis of whispered traditional melodies and crepuscular drones that defines their current soundworld. Yet there's more of a pop sensibility here, albeit one infected with the kind of lopsided art brut vision singlehandedly defined by Calvin Johnson's K Records. The guitarist works with odd, truncated patterns and Carin Wagner's vocals often break as she strains to follow its stubby note trails. The subtle use of field recordings give some tracks the feel of accidental photographs of places you barely remember visiting. The bonus stuff is just as interesting. A couple of choice covers help fix where they're broadcasting from: Eno's "The Fat Lady Of Limbourg" and Donovan's gorgeous "The Lullaby Of Spring". But best of all are the closing tracks: "Mariner", a spectral lullaby haunted by the melody of "Greensleeves", and "Garden", featuring Wagner's expressive vocals. - David Keenan Kashmir / Lowlife (Japan) review: Reissue of their debut album with remastering and added rare tracks includes live recordings. (gothic?) Folk songs like saying soliloquy by the side of the swamp where the dark woods shade sunshine. Whispering vocal and instruments sometimes out of tune keep clearness and melancholy. It's interesting how their serene image seen in photographs link to the dark inner world. I'd like to recommend for more people although it is not commercial. Aching Cellar (UK) review: This is a very special album, consisting of 9 beautiful, exclusive songs, to which has been added (1 hour +) the Iditarod's charming debut, "The River Nektar". Originally on Hub City, ( I still have my copy; it came with an ornament, and each sleeve was a different photo in a series of shots from their debut European tour). They produced such a moving set at Terrastock 5 in 2002 …beautiful, naive & utterly captivating…. that I wanted to listen to nothing else for a while. You'll probably feel the same when you've heard this, so I'm hoping to stock all their recorded works here. This is very special Psychedelic Folk music from (and for) the head and heart: new 2003. - Rustic Rod All Music Guide review (#2): River Nektar AMG Rating: 4/5 stars The production on the Iditarod's 1998 debut is sparser than it would evolve into by the time of their The Ghost, the Elf, the Cat, and the Angel four years later. Yet the approach is the same: minimal, spooky folk-psych-pop, featuring Carin Wagner's tremulous vocals, mystically-tinged words suggesting a fragile pastoralism, and overall establishing the mood of walking through an enchanted but haunted forest. Though the backing is dominated by acoustic guitar, it's augmented by weird touches such as violin-like drones, eerie slide, disconsolate tambourine rattles, effects that sound like wind and dog barks through a white noise filter, thunderstorm prattles, and chirping birds. It's music for the slow hours and solitary places, for sure, Wagner's voice sometimes faltering as though she's afraid of waking the neighbors. On one of the more disquieting cuts, "Boat," her quivering lead is doubled by another voice (hers?), faintly in the background, that sounds like a woman on the verge of a low-key nervous breakdown. The 2003 CD reissue adds nine bonus tracks from out-of-print singles and outtakes, similar to those on the proper album but sometimes a little more lo-fi (and occasionally live, if the low-volume crowd noise on some tracks is an accurate indication). Most of the bonus material presents songs not on the album in any form, with the exception of a live version of "Boat" and an "original version" of "Garden"; also among the bonus cuts are covers of Donovan's "The Lullaby of Spring" and Brian Eno's "The Fat Lady of Limbourg." - Richie Unterberger Zoopa Loop (France) review: Coming from Rhode Island, The Iditarod is a duo consisting of Carin ( vocals, acoustic guitars, tamboura ) and Jeffrey ( guitar, banjo, bass, sound treatments ) whose talents express themselves through a folk music whose quite cold nature and mysterious aura owe theirs peculiarities to the minimal arrangements around which the duo have written their songs. "The River Nektar" was originally released on the now defunct label Hub City Records in 1998. Enhanced with 9 bonus tracks including two covers of Donovan's "The lullaby of spring" and Brian Eno's "The fat lady of Limbourg", their debut album now comes forward as an almost brand new piece for people whom would have only discovered them with their second album entitled "The Ghost, The Elf, the Cat and the Angel". As I haven't listened to the afairesaid album, I won't compare both records, so I will simply describe my feelings about "The River Nektar" which very much suprises me due to its quite severe style, reduced to its essentials. As if their tracks were condensed around a sort of spiritual vibe, sometimes verging on paganism, embellished with few percussions and where male and female vocals, which almost change into whispers on several occasions, support this sensation. The major part of their songs also develops a medieval haunting feel leading the listener throughout an invisible forest where the slightest melody boundlessly echoes up to the womb of mother earth ( "Children 3", "Bavaria", "Servants serve", "East Ring Dell", "Gold Berry White", "Meadows" ). One only has to close eyes. Besides Nature is constantly present in their music either in the shape of sea flavours ( "Move" ) or less obvious textures whose psychedelic perfumes refer to the "Flower Power" era ( "Mariner", "Garden" or Donovan's cover ). Psychedelism is here encapsulated in less classic structures requiring further listens than for a pop / rock album to completely come to light ( "Boat", "Providence", "Mariner" ). But as to show that their stuff is not only rooted in distant past, few numbers are beautified with light electronic touches as the Radio samples during "Dictation and transcription"or the dissonant and oscillating sounds of "Meadows" and "The Lorelei" rolling up the above-mentioned songs in a somewhat adventurous genre, almost avant garde. I would like to hear more compositions blending both of these opposite cultures whose initial pieces are more than attractive. Finally "The River Nektar" is a record where words and music form some delicious poems whose beauty is as ephemeral as desperate. Dedicated to wandering souls. - Rigart Renaud T.O.P.I. (France) review: the Iditarod www.theIditarod.org The River Nektar CD Tusen takk for sist. Countless thanks for “The River Nektar” !!! Oh me oh my, I’d never thought this reissue would be such a slap, a pleasant one of course since it’s a musical one – though it actually made my cheeks rosier than ever! I mean, it’s like listening to a brand new album (why, of course there are twice as more songs)… Sure I cherished the Hub City release for its gorgeous hand-made artwork and its raw sound, pure and translucent as a jewel can be, but the mastering is genuinely excellent. It now sounds lushier and is closer to the entrancing textures you’ve developed recently, with contradictory melodies entwining themselves in cyclical spheres of sheer Beauty. An incarnate bliss… THE IDITAROD rules!!! Ginger teas and virtual hugs, Hjertelig hilsen... If the original pressing was more pleasant due to its hand-made design, this re-issue of THE IDITAROD's first opus comes in time to soothe our need to see their discography expand; so, back then they were just a duo… and reduced line-up induces here a limited instrumentation: their insidious charisma is all the more blatant and their sensibility raw, a sort of Cat Power unplugged - especially on "Gold Berry White" - … amidst aquamarine shades, Carin's siren-like nets float along on Jeffrey's wyrd-folk current, their lunar melodies swept along by a bustling bitterness, leading us all-ways further adrift, towards forgotten sunk realms of peace and beauty we ignored we missed so much… I hope we won't have to wait too long to hear the forthcoming album!!! Ah, and the MP3s with Sharron Kraus are plain brilliant - countless thanks! - Amadeo Spahi Rockerilla (Italy) review: (a split review with Nagisa Ni Te) Dal quotidiano affollamento di uscite discografiche ecco emergere due interessanti ristampe dedicate ai cultori del wyrd-folk. [Nagisa Ni Te described here]. Più sperimentale ed oscuro "The River Nektar", esordio degli americani Iditarod ristampato a cinque anni di distanza dalla release originaria. Sospese in un'atmosfera arcane e rarefatta che mette in evidenza le vocals spettrali di Carin Wagner accanto alla messe di strumenti desueti suonati da Jeffrey Alexander, le composizioni degli Iditarod sono l'ideale colonna Sonora per una notte dentro il castello (di fantasmi?) immortalato in copertina, e anticipano le sonorità del fascinoso "The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat and The Angel" uscito nel 2002. Da segnalare la presenza di ben nove bonus tracks tra cui spicca la cover di "The Lullaby Of Spring" di Donovan. - Maurizio Marino Fakejazz.com review: the Iditarod the River Nektar [reissue] (BlueSanct) www.bluesanct.com Haunting, medieval madrigals ("Meadows"), avant-garde folk (although Timothy Renner hadn't coined the term wyrdfolk yet, this is what he was referring to when he did), experiments in found sounds, field recordings, tape loops ("Dictation and Transcription"), and brief instrumental sorbets to cleanse the palette as the various moods and styles pass by ("Helms A'Lee," "Servants Serve," "East Ring Dell" "The Lorelei," et. al.) abound on the reissue of this Providence, RI duo's debut album (originally issued by Hub City in 1998), complimented here by an additional half hour of bonus material. Carin Wagner's fragile vocals tiptoe a fine line between singing and speaking the lyrics and occasionally crack under the mounting tension. "Gold Berry White" is vintage Patti Smith ca. her Horses' tone poems, while most other songs are delivered over Jeffrey Alexander's gently plucked, occasionally syncopated, yet undeniably folky guitar lines, sort of like Nick Drake with a nervous twitch. Wagner's vocals are often hushed to the point of a whisper (as on "Boat"), encouraging the listener to lean inwardly towards the speakers to catch every nuance. "Providence," the album's highlight, features an interesting vocal approach that combines Melanie, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Joan Armatrading over the album's most linear melody for a gentle, almost swaying folk ballad. "Mariner" incorporates the traditional "Greensleeves" melody to add to the haunting sorrow of this lovely ballad, and the live version of "Garden" which closes the original album also features a forlorn, childlike melody sure to bring a tear to the eye. I can also imagine myself sitting in a cozy coffeehouse next to a crackling fire listening to Carin's lilting, simulatenously crackling voice delivere this heartfelt tale. Most of the songs are very short (under three minutes, with several clocking in under two), suggesting the Iditarod are here to speak/sing their piece and get on with it, a refreshing outlook in today's tediously drawnout experimental world. As to the bonus material, "Move" is a pretty acoustic guitar instrumental and "Sylvia Jean," not one of Carin's better vocal performances, nevertheless features interesting instrumentation. A lovely cover of Donovan's "Lullabye of Spring" is augmented by sound effects of chirping birds, adding a corny, but enjoyable air of virtual reality to the sentiment of the changing of the seasons. It doesn't quite rise to the level of the bazouki players in that old Monty Python cheese shoppe sketch, but you get the idea. Two nice additions are the live version of "Boat" and the original studio version of "Garden," giving the listener an excellent opportunity to compare notes and fully appreciate how the Iditarod transform their compositions for the live setting. And the long out-of-print cover of Eno's "Fat Lady of Limbourg" indicates the couple would be prime candidates for any upcoming tribute albums to today's more esoteric artists. BIYL: Stone Breath, In Gowan Ring, Fit & Limo, wyrdfolk. - Jeff Penczak Boa (Scotland) review: The biggest problem with this new-fangled computer technology is when something goes missing it is most often lost forever. While attempting to sort this lp section into 2 more bite-sized parts, I managed to somehow lose the original review of this album. I was more distraught about this than if it had been any other disc, not because I didn't want to listen to it again (I hardly need any excuse to!) but because it is one of those mood-defining records that sets you in a different frame of mind every time you play it. It has a dark and minimal folk aesthetic paired with lyrics more similar to Grimms' fairy tales than anything you normally hear on an indie release. The nearest comparison I can think of is a more sinister Lonely. Carin Wagner's hoarse whispers at the end of "Gold Berry White" are disquieting enough without her hiccupy distant wailing during the second verse of "Boat". The sea imagery continues on "Mariner" which lilts and lurches and compounds the medieval feel with its subdued rendition on church organ of "Greensleeves". The instrumental tracks that punctuate the album every so often are every bit as haunting: "Dictation and Transcription" sees a firmly and deliberately picked acoustic guitar accompanied by the distant rattle of a typewriter. Maybe this is what Empress would sound like if they had a record collection full of Incredible String Band and Sandy Denny records - beautiful, naive and utterly captivating. Dream Magazine review: The Iditarod is Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander (though they’re joined by a friend or two on a few tracks). Transparently lo-fi acoustic guitar, mix of (mostly) female and some male vocals, with words by Carin, sounding like dark internal musings, full of suspense, mystery and ghostly tender universal human frailty. Makes me think of the stuff Kath Bloom did with Loren Mazzacane Connors, also: Hood, Jandek, Mecca Normal, and Alastair Galbraith. Quiet details and tangible moments, as eloquent and ephemeral as a sigh. Broken Face (Sweden) review (#1): the Iditarod (USA) The River Nektar Hub City CD, 4/5 stars The Iditarod is a minimal and moody duo including Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander hailing out of Providence, Rhode Island. "The River Nektar" is their debut album, which takes off towards quiet but still haunting terrain with the occasional nod in the medieval direction. The main instrument is the acoustic guitar but Carin Wagner's vocals and not the least her fragmented lyrics is an essential feature of the music as well. Her God-sent ethereal voice is enough to send shivers down the most stoic spine which perfectly suites the despair that is the unmistakable main characteristic of this album. There are really too many good songs here to start pointing out any specific ones but the acid-folkish opener, "Meadows", is such a highlight that I simply can't resist. With plenty of space between the notes, giving the previous sound from the guitar an appreciated chance to breathe and expand, the music reaches new dimensions. All over these empty fields of aural sparseness we find Carin's moaning vocals and some external sounds creating a mesmerizing whole. More of the same comes in "Boat" with distinctive but yet whispering vocals floating like a tidal wave rapidly gaining shore. And then we have the shredded "The Lorelei" which recalls one of this issue's main features, Electroscope, at their best. The Iditarod invites you to a journey through the most forlorn valleys and darkest forests of any medieval legend. It's a route filled with beauty that you'd be deeply disappointed if you missed being part of. You know what to do. - Mats Gustafsson Tape-Gun (Canada) review: Dark and creepy. Carin Wagner has ghostly voice that swells and fades, as the music screetches and wails. It may not sound pretty, but it really is. A few allusions to His Name is Alive's recordings (circa Home Is In Your Head), in the instrumental, "Helms A'Lee," and in the structures of a few of the other tracks. The main element of the CD is the atmosphere created by far away vocals, distant samples and plenty of room sounds. "Boat" is my favorite song, with the sound of birds and water in the background, and a vocal track that one has to strain to hear, singing; "How will I ever know you weren't the violent tide, that tore, that took the boat." Halfway through the song Carin comes in with backing vocals that sound like they were yelled from across a room. Scary sensory and emotionally charged. Ptolemaic Terrascope (UK) review: If the Iditarod are not the future of rock "n" roll, then they could well be the future of packaging. "Acid folk" understates it considerably. Some kind of deranged cottage industry has been driving its gnomes to the brink of psychosis, producing weird wooden necklaces in zip lock bags with pictures of huskies on them (supposedly Christmas decorations). Oh, and there's a cd in here somewhere too. The "River Nektar's" minimalism is lovely, but with an undercurrent of unhinged personality. It feels like waking up with a bad head on the sofa in the afternoon not knowing who you are. But hey, in a good way. Stark, darkly beautiful and recommended. All Music Guide review (#1): Complex acoustic guitar work, random sounds, and an upright bass is the formula that makes up the flowing space pop feel for the Providence, RI-based Iditarod. On their first full-length, the Iditarod lay out very minimal constructions of acoustic guitar and vocals, concentrating sometimes on a downbeat, desolate and eerie feel and sometimes on gentle, gorgeous sweeps of melody - various "found" and semi-psychedelic sounds float across both styles, fleshing out the group's minimalism to a certain extent. Most of the record's songwriting is effective, and frequently compelling, making a strong entry into the line of earnest minimalism that came into fashion in late '90s independent music. Broken Face review (#2): the Iditarod The River Nektar (BlueSanct) Having listened to this album 4 or 5 times already, I'm stuck with the very legitimate problem that would face someone who'd been given the challenge of reviewing an album that they had known for a good period of time--in short, the songs here have already become quite familiar, and there is simply no use in making judgment calls like good or bad. Being the Iditarod, we know quite well that this will be quality material, but with The River Nektar, we have a reissue of their very first recording back in 1998. I'll be blunt, their April release, The Ghost The Elf, The Cat and the Angel is a lusher album and more what we would expect from the band. Instead, The River Nektar serves up a sparser helping that could easily date back to the 80's or 70's. Instead of exotic instrumentation, most songs use a relatively traditional selection of instruments; perhaps reminiscent of Low while actually being completely different. Occasionally a primitive keyboard appears or a sample is used in the background--sometimes unidentifiable, though rain is always a nice accompaniment (actually the rain may be live!) Somewhere between not being particularly taken by The River Nektar the first time round, and my current, near compulsive, repeated listenings of the album, the music clearly blossomed into something I didn't hear at first--and maybe that is the best sort of album after all. BlueSanct's reissue though is far from bare-bones. The River Nektar comes complete with over 30 minutes of bonus material, all of which fits in perfectly. Most surprising are the covers, a Donovan song and yes, you guessed it, Eno's Fat Lady of Limbourg! There is something quite wonderful about finding a cover where you least expect it; and Iditarod's low key replication of Eno minus all the weird electronic oscillations and chirping feels perfectly at home amongst the other songs here. The final say? The River Nektar (officially available in a few months) is an extremely likable and charming album that may not feel as lush as other releases, but has traded that in for the more subtle, enduring qualities that characterize albums like Cale's Vintage Violence, or Fairport Convention's second and third album. Highly recommended! - Chris Moon Original Sin (Belgium) review: the Iditarod the River Nektar (Hub City Records) It looks like the American DIY label Hub City is another label to follow as not only they have released the futuristic DIY indiepop from Winterbrief but they have also brought the debut album from the Iditarod on the market. The Iditarod are a duo from Providence whose music has been categorized as home-fi/psych-folk/gnome-rock. "What's that?". I can hear you say…Well, a sort of post rock that has influences from Catpower, Galaxie 500, P J Harvey and Cowboy Junkies. So all songs that are intimate, guitars and drums always on the background as it's the humble voice that is the main force of the music. A bit like Margaret O'Hara's "Miss America" album. All very quiet, but quite intense. AUTOreverse review: The Iditarod are a duo who play music perfectly suitable for listening to during winter. The songs are loosely attached to a wanderingly structured acoustic guitar and Carin Wagner's soft and shy voice flutters across the top of the music. The lyrics and imagery have a distinctively Middle Ages vibe to it. Faruq doesn't know if he could get into this often but when the time is right, i.e. late at night, in the fall or winter with crispness in the air, alone, this CD would do the trick. Faruq liked it best when Carin's voice was more forceful and commanding but one of the appeals of her voice is its delicate vulnerability as it often sounds as if it is about to collapse in on itself. A highlight is "Boat" with its rain and storm and ghostlike twin vocals over strumming acoustic guitar. The beautiful simplicity of "Providence" is also pretty and it is followed by the brief instrumental "The Lorelei" that has a captivating sample looped over and over. A live track, "Garden," ends the CD and Carin's voice is so achingly tender it seems as if she won't make it to the end of the song but she does. This CD is a haunting listen and can be enhanced by proper season or hour of the day or state of mind. Plus you get handmade goodies from Hub City for no extra charge if you get this. Faruq got an Iditarod xmas ornament! Speck Zine (Canada) review: The Iditarod The River Nektar (Hub City Records) Spacey-folk basement production from this fine indie label. Carin, the singer is accompanied by her fiance Jeffrey whom you may know from Magic Eye Singles, a groovy label that put out the "For The Dead In Space" compilation I went gaga for in the last issue. Carin singing is hauntingly torpid. The backing music creates a vision of medieval mystery. Not that your going to get something dull like the newest Dead Can Dance stuff either, this is much more interesting. Every CD comes hand decorated with a photo from their European tour. Aural Innovations review: The Iditarod are an acoustic music duo consisting of Carin Wagner & Jeffrey Alexander. They come from Rhode Island and their music could be described as desolate/tortured. The River Nektar is their debut outing and was originally released on Hub City Records in 1998, but it is to be re-released February 4th 2003 on Bluesanct, which I guess is their own label (sic). In addition, this re-released version has nine extra tracks that have been taken from outtakes and out of print singles. As I listen to this disc, its dark unforgiving nature swelled over all compositions. Most are mainly acoustic based songs that stir with primitive gestures, raw playing and overwhelming sadness. All have a somewhat haunted slant to them and most are very slow in tempo and minimal in sound progression, a definite style that The Iditarod have. Songs like ‘Never Used’, ‘Bavaria’, ‘Gold Berry White’ and ‘Garden’ seem to echo similar avenues trod by Tanya Donelly, but The Iditarod have a more sombre approach to their music. This is a trait that runs throughout the CD. Sometimes this vein almost pumps with blood, but in reality rigamortis seems to have set in. The main vocal duties have been taken by Carin which is why I mentioned Tanya Donelly. The song writing styles are similar in certain respects and the use of layered vocals on ‘Never Used’ definitely have a Tanya Donelly feel. Carin’s vocals have a very tortured sound to them, packed with feeling. The majority is clasping at the tune and perhaps not quite hitting it, rather staggering either side. Yet they fit the music perfectly, stretching over it with graceful motions, taking it further into the places where sadness stirs. There is odd percussion and bass guitar on certain songs, possibly an organ hither & thither. A few of the tracks are live on The River Nektar, and there are cover versions of Donovan’s ‘Lullaby of Spring’ and Brian Eno’s ‘The Fat Lady of Limbourg’ among the additional tracks. All in all The Iditarod are what I would term depressional folk music for want of a category. They have produced here a collection of songs that offer something to acoustic music. The sombreness seems to be ingrained in their souls, the sadness etched upon their very brows. Bliss Aquamarine (UK) review: I've recently got some CDs from Hub City who seem to specialise in various kinds of lo-fi pop, with similarly lo-tech packaging. The Iditarod have a CD 'The River Nektar' which brings together elements of current lo-fi pop and traditional folk. It's quiet music but can sometimes sound a bit discordant (eg 'Dictation And Transcription'). The vocalist sings 'Bavaria' quite loudly but other times sounds timid and/or as though she's in pain but trying to hide it. Quite an unusual vocal style and possibly an acquired taste, but I think I'd rather listen to this singer than an arrogant sounding one whose over-confident singing is the aural equivalent of swaggering. the Iditarod - Kleine This is a tape-only collection of songs by the Iditarod that was released by Morc Records in Belgium (later available as a self-released CD-R from the Iditarod themselves). Much like their other efforts, this is a surreal and highly introspective release that features stirring strings and the ghostly vocals of Carin. As I listened to this, I felt like I was being transported to some strange and wonderful never-never land that you can only find hidden away in the nooks and crannies of your dreams. There is some poignant mandolin [sic] playing, and one of the tracks features the beautiful sighs and moans of Carin, who sounds like she is being recorded deep in the bowels of some long forgotten well. The Iditarod are a very entrancing and unusual band that excel at producing dream music. Their sonic palette is cryptic yet fascinating, distant yet intriguing. This modern age music with fairy tale undertones. Very unique. Big Takeover review: (Kleine / the Ghost, the Elf… joint review) The Iditarod trod the same starlit folk/psych ground as Stone Breath, P.G. Six and the Appendix Out. Strangely beautiful low key tunes float in on acoustic guitars, hand percussion and subtle electronic effects and their frequent instrumental interludes sound a bit like Donovan at his most charmingly baroque and psychedelic. Led by the multi-instrumentalist duo of Carin Wagner (who also sings) and Jeffrey Alexander, these two CDs also feature guests such as Fit & Limo and Six Organs of Admittance's [engineer] Jesse Poe on "The Ghost…" and [New Zealand's] Alastair Galbraith on "Kleine". Carin and Jeffrey also run the Magic Eye Singles record label which released the excellent "For the Dead in Space" tribute to Tom Rapp and Pearls Before Swine. Sitars and cello exist side by side with the sound of crickets or ominous drones and like the landscape of the Alaskan dog sled race for which they are named, they produce a sound full of space and natural beauty. The two CDs are similar but quite different and fans of the new folk/psych should check them both out. Various - Terrastock 7" Box The coolest souvenir to emerge from the recent Terrastock festival was surely the T5 singles set (Time Lag 5X7” box TLR-007 through 011). It has 33rpm 7” by The Iditarod, Stone Breath, Charalambides, Bardo Pond, and Sonic Youth, each inside its own letterpressed sleeve, all of them tucked inside a printed box. It is a damn nice thing. Iditarod spew a magnificent gauze of lost-commune-folk-smoke-damage. Stone Breath pull off a great cross-pollination of Anglo-acid-folk and backwoods-banjo-ramble. The Charalambides are in a more electric and psych-shifting mode than one sometimes finds them. Bardo Pond offer two fine instrumentals, one a folky space rock archer, the other an off-kilter riff stumbler. Sonic Youth’s entries are two short, blaring chunks of noise-wander recorded for the soundtrack of the Oliver Asaayas film, Demon Lover. It is what you’d have to call a real sweet package of treats. So don’t be shy. - Byron Coley Fakejazz.com review: Various - Terrastock 7" Box the Iditarod / Charalambides / Stone Breath / Bardo Pond / The Sonic Youth - 5x7 - The T5 Singles Box (Time Lag). Portland, Maine's Time Lag Records assembled this limited edition (500) box set of five 7" singles, which was originally sold at the Terrastock V music festival in Boston last month. The Iditarod's track, "Feel the Breath of the Woods Upon Your Heart" covers both sides of their single, with Camera Obscura recording artist Sharron Kraus contributing clarinet to the b-side ("Part 2,") joining the main duo of Carin Wagner on vocals, singing bowls and shruti box, and Jeffrey Alexander on stringed instruments and electronics. The Iditarod, like Charalambides -- who we'll get to in a moment--don't so much write songs as create mood pieces, and "Feel the Breath...," particularly "Part 2," is a lengthy, sustained drone with the aforementioned instruments, culminating in Alexander's gently strummed acoustics. Ambient... melancholic... memorable. The only down side is having to kill the buzz to get up and flip the thing over. [The reviewer then goes on to detail each of the other singles individually] - Jeff Penczak Broken Face review: the Iditarod - Scandinavian Tour 7" The haunting and fragmented folk of the Iditarod's wonderful debut album "The River Nektar" received a well-deserved rave review in this publication a cpl of issues back. Their latest release is a special Scandinavian tour 7" to celebrate their cherished October 2000 tour in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The Iditarod's music reminds me of a castle, a medieval castle that from the outside is breathtakingly beautiful. But once you get in there, it's full of dark and frightening infernal tunnels which form a kaleidoscopic system where you're bound to get a little lost. The fragile and ghostly world you'll be stumbling through includes 2 Iditarod originals, a stunning King Crimson cover & a very nice experimental lockgroove part. I wouldn't go so far to say it's the 7" of the year, but it's pretty damn close. You're welcome back anytime guys! Splendid e-zine review: the Iditarod - Scandinavian Tour 7" This is some cool stuff. Side A, "Compromising", is an unfocused (in a good way) blur of guitars, tape loops and texture, with sweet and mumbly female vocals wandering through the mix. Imagine His Name is Alive without amps and you'll get the idea. Some may find the B-side more accessible. "Boring" is a fairly straightforward, if broody piece of folkiness. However, the band really pulls out all the stops for their cover of King Crimson's "Moonchild" -- in addition to mesmeric vocals, you get cello, moog and a host of effects. While it's a shame that this cover is allowed to overshadow the band's originals, it's still a darkly beautiful piece of work. Side A also includes a 440 E lock groove, with which the Iditarod encourages experimentation. They even detail intriguing applications for multiple copies of the single deployed upon multiple turntables, though with a pressing -- on clear vinyl, yet -- of only 300, not many listeners will get to bring that experiment to fruition. Fakejazz.com review: the Iditarod - Scandinavian Tour 7" Pressed for their Fall 2000 tour of Scandinavia, the Maryland [sic] 3 piece have released a wonderful 7" (limited to only 300) of lo-fi, Eric's Trip-like beauty mixed with wonderful drone. Side A, "Compromising," starts off with Carin playing a simple guitar part and singing. After only one repeat, Jeffrey (also the owner of the Magic Eye Singles label) comes in with tape loops of bowed guitars, layers of textured guitars, and some tape manipulation. The interaction of the beautifully simple singing and guitar mixed with the multi-layered loops creates a wonderful contrasting of styles that ends with a lock groove in an E drone. Side B contains 2 songs. The first song, "Boring," starts off a lot like "Compromising." It is Carin all alone, singing and strumming an acoustic guitar. This is easily my favorite track on the 7". The vocals are shy and fragile, and make you want to latch onto them to get every ounce of meaning and to memorize every syllable. The second song, "Moon Child," is a King Crimson cover. Jeffrey forms the base of the song with picked acoustic guitar and moog and Carin sings. While this is still a nice song, it is the weakest one on the 7", probably because by doing a cover, they have limited the wonderful creativity they have show in their other songs by having to follow someone else's song structure. This is a great 7" that will surely be loved by fans of Eric's Trip, Cat Power, or any interesting lo-fi acoustic pop. Broken Face review: the Iditarod / Eyesores - Split 7" This split single from two of the most interesting Providence combos at the moment is not only an aurally pleasant record it's also beautiful esthetically with a hand-screened sleeve making the whole thing visually very attractive. The Iditarod gives us more of those dark and dusty Edith Frost moods apparent on the debut album "The River Nektar" with evident traces back in time due to the medieval touch of it all. A mind-blowing cover of Eno's "Fat Lady Of Limbourg" does it for me but not in the same jaw-dropping style as on the album. The Eyesores is a band perfect for late drunken evenings at the bar when everyone's left except yourself and the band that just keeps playing those lovely lamenting ballads. Acoustic and electric guitar, lap steel, double bass, piano pedal and accordion pretty much sets the atmosphere, don't you think? Big Takeover review: the Iditarod / Eyesores - Split 7" The Eyesores' experimental folk song "Train" is a long slow ride over a background of some kind of a squeeze box/pedal steel/bowed cymbal/cello drone. It's all very stretched out under nice vocals with notes being hit occasionally. Its a fine example of the discreet charm of the indie-rock punter. On the other side the Iditarod do two songs, "Children Three" and a cover of ENO's dirge-like "The Fat Lady Of Limbourg". They have pretty much the same sound as the Eyesores, though this time it's with a female singer. Somber moods and broken hearts seem to be the order of the day, very nice for those introspective times. Kickbright review: the Iditarod / Eyesores - Split 7" Both bands on this have a similar sound. Both remind me of Retsin and Will Oldham - a kind of indie porch rock music. The Eyesores seem to be a five piece collective with a couple of guests. The Iditarod songs are real somber, almost scary - especially their first song. They also do a Brian Eno cover of "The Fat Lady of Limbourg" using an accordion. Treemusic (Sweden) review: the Iditarod / Jen Turrell - Split 7" The new split single with the Iditarod and Jen Turrell is a MUST! Jen Turrell is a really nice listen, but it's the two Iditarod tracks that are bound to blow every wyrd mind in the whole wide world! 'Weaker One' is the spookiest and most captivating track I've heard in ages, quite different in style from what we've learnt to expect from the Iditarod. Really heavy atmosphere and vocals frightingly close to your ears. The Iditarod only get better and better all the time. During the entire Poor Minstrels tour, I didn't see one bad show with them. They're simply awesome, and this new release only confirms it. It's out on Dutch Courage btw, www.dutchcouragerecords.com. If you don't have a vinyl player, this is a VERY good reason to get one!" - Peter Scion (Sensitive Swede) BlueSanct review: the Iditarod / Jen Turrell - Split 7" THE IDITAROD's 'Weaker One' is one of the most experimental tracks yet from this already diverse and amazing band. Freakout viola [sic] tracks come in and out while Carin Wagner sleepily croons from the stage of a bar straight out of a David Lynch movie. This is an amazing track! Various Artists - Poor Minstrels, Vol. 1 CD I am not not exactly sure what happened, but I know that a tour with Stone Breath, the Iditarod, In Gowan Ring and Drekka probably wouldn't have happened a few years ago. The crowd interested in this kind of peripheral folk music can still be considered rather small, but it is an interesting cross section of people that constantly keeps growing. The compilation CD "The Poor Minstrels of Song" was primarily put together to be sold at said tour, but fortunately this physical evidence of a slowly swelling movement is still available. The disc features all of the bands on the tour plus tracks from Prydwyn and Timothy Renner solo, The Eyesores and static films. These names alone are enough for me, but if they aren't as familiar to you here's a short rundown. The Iditarod crafts mysterious songs that sound medieval and futuristic at the same time, like gazing at the moon for too long. In Gowan Ring shapes soft-spoken folk music, meshing ethereal drones with British folk and enigmatic lyrics. Stone Breath presents another unique variation on folk music, slowly pulling you into a kind of parallel sound universe situated in a deceptive and incredibly beautiful dream. Drekka is the project of Indiana-based Michael Anderson and this is arguably the most experimental of the four. He drapes his distant acoustic guitar plucking in curtains of looped effects to a droning mass of mystery. static film's contribution "Under the Maude Moon" is a soothingly static and unsettling piece perfect for mind expansion while The Eyesores are less poppy than I ever heard them before but enthralling all the same. Prydwyn's cover of Syd Barrett's "Late Night" is possibly the most straightforward arranged song on "The Poor Minstrels of Song", but it's so incredibly beautiful that it shines as one of the finest of the 17 tracks. Loss and isolation have rarely sounded this obvious and beautiful at that same time. The whole thing is a cooperative release from BlueSanct, Hand/Eye and Vent Recordings and it comes together with the beautiful tour program. Ptolemaic Terrascope review: Various Artists - Poor Minstrels, Vol. 2 CD (CD on BlueSanct/Secret Eye) Samplers are a dodgy breed. Most of them resemble my garden in that a couple of decent, attractive specimens are obscured and choked by weeds. Rest assured however that this collection of exclusive material by the Poor Minstrels conglomerate boasts enough exotic blooms to keep Alan Titchmarsh in raptures for an entire series of 'Gardener's World'. The original Poor Minstrels of Folk tour in 2001 found the unfeasibly industrious Tim Renner's Stonebreath in an 'Experimental Folk Carnival' which took their brand of 'Wyrd' Ancient/Modern Folk music to the good people of the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. A few related tracks are included herein but the bulk of the material on this sampler is provided by the four acts who featured on the follow-up Poor Minstrels 2 tour of Northern Europe in Feb/Mar of 2002. The 'stars' of the show (a concept that's likely anathema to the participants) are probably The Iditarod, a four-piece from Rhode Island, who appear in various guises on no less than five tracks. From the first seconds of the opener 'Beech, Birch, Mountain Pine', it's obvious that they have studied and assimilated the "Witch season Book Of Folk-Rock 1970". Their beguiling harmonies and deft blending of muted electronics with the 'natural' timbres easily avoids the common pitfalls of preciousness, pretension and tweeness. Their take on the Trad. Britfolk warhorse 'Blackwaterside' is utterly bewitching. The other American cast member is Michael Anderson, aka Drekka. His by-line reads "From the suburbs through the city towards the country", and indeed his mixture of acoustic guitar and electronic sound experiments succeed in suggesting a shifting landscape as a backdrop to pieces such as 'Camera' and 'The Song For The End Of The World', an epic album finale on which Drekka conducts a cast of thousands. Well, a dozen. Old friend of PT, Filip 'Ring' Andersen meanwhile beams down from Kristiansand to contribute a couple of his trademark, endearing 'low-fi Garage-Folk' songs. Ring's voice always puts me in mind of a Nordic Michael Chapman, which is, of course, no bad thing, but his songs and sound are all his own, even on the uncharacteristic "My Rockabilly Girl". There's a lovely bonus too when Ring is backed by The Iditarod on the gorgeous "Unborne Son". The quartet of Minstrels is completed by Swedish troubadour Peter Scion. Peter weighs in with three typically varied and excellent songs - the Jansch/Pentangle influenced "A Mystery To Us All" (complete with "And Terry will play his glockenspiel" percussion), an almost Heavy Metal makeover for "Pretty Polly" and, perhaps best of all, a compelling, whispered slice of electronic funkiness "Ice-Cube" that frankly, to my ears, has little to do with 'Folk' music at all. They may call themselves Poor Minstrels but this compilation is full of riches. Dream Magazine review: Various Artists - Poor Minstrels, Vol. 1 CD (BlueSanct, Vent, Hand/Eye) A collection of songs by the various artists that made up the touring edition of The Poor Minstrels. A series of concerts that blatantly ignored the West Coast, while spreading the gossamer spell of their lovely pale tendril of modern evolving folk music along the East Coast of these continental United States. A situation that needs to be remedied and brought into balance in the somehow possible future. With 17 tracks and over 70 minutes of music this is a real feast. Opening with The Iditarod's stunning over 8 minute Cold, Drafty Castles with Absent Masters that envelopes you like a spectral dream. In Gowan Ring follow with the medieval sounding Dandelion Wine, that pays reverent tribute to the making and consumption of the titular subject matter. Having just started my latest batch I can't be too objective, there's not another elixir nearly as worthy of song as this singular of distillation of the essence of Spring. Drekka open a dronezone into a lonely dark space, hissing in the isolation. Stone Breath delivers a reinvention a of Long Lost Friend, here the "cobweb'ed version", with Sarada's guitar and voice taking the lead and Tim in the background. The Iditarod next deliver the beautiful combination of noise and faerie winged mysticism, that constitutes Thierna Na Oge. Timothy Renner plucks a gut string banjo and the sound could be a thousand years old. The Eyesore's Shopping Cart simmers in the mid-day sun, heat waves rippling the light, in slow motion from the p.o.v. of a homeless person pushing their world around. Prydwyn's Raven Hair feels like very early Tyrannosaurus Rex doing a Silver Apples song. In Gowan Ring's Swan Song -instrumental is like looking out over a vast calm sea. The Iditarod's Nottamun -dubh is a hypnotic reconstruction that glints like light through a revolving crystal, Stone Breath do a chilling cover of Pailhead's Man Should Sunender. Prydwyn does an admirable rendition of Syd Barrett's lonely, lovely Late Night. static films Under the Maude Moon is a surreal supernatural folk drone. Timothy Renner takes feedback, banjo, ghostly shadowplay and sings the old blues gospel Jesus Gonna Make My Dying Bed. Drekka does the incomparable Leonard Cohen's Minute Prologue. In Gowan Ring's Two Towers is simply B'eirth's voice and a lovely old sounding piano, but it's enough and quite captivating. The album ends with a recording made from the rooftop in Nepal of a passing Ganesh procession; the cumulative effect of this collection is a heady one indeed; transportational and magical. This CD comes within the pages of a cool little book with cover by Timothy Renner, and biographies of the participants, and lots of antiquated graphics and cool connective ads of interest. All Music Guide review: Various Artists - Poor Minstrels, Vol. 1 CD A showcase compilation for the circle of bands associated with Tim Renner and his Stone Breath project, The Poor Minstrels of Song is a fine way for the curious listener to hear more from many fine dark/acid folk groups that emphasize strange mystery in both song and performance. Both Stone Breath and solo Renner have a number of tracks demonstrating his excellent abilities for careful and absolute pacing and performance (his solo turn on banjo for "Elzick's Farewell" is especially striking), but he's not the only focus by any means. The Iditarod's various contributions show a sense of space and a deliberation in their performances that suggest as much comfort in the studio as performing, adding entrancing overdubs on strings and other instruments to emphasize the atmosphere of songs like the traditional "Thierna Na Oge." In Gowan Ring contributes three tracks, including "Dandelion Wine - 1999," which adds just enough strange psychedelic haze to the stately effort, and the piano/vocal mood-out "Two Towers." There's one obvious out-of-nowhere moment that's easily a highlight of the album as a whole: Stone Breath's cover of "Man Should Surrender." Originally done by Pailhead, and as intense and brusque as one might imagine an Ian Mackaye/Al Jourgensen project to be, here it becomes a drone-heavy male/female duet, shorter than the original at two minutes tops but possessed of its own haunting focus. Other covers include Drekka's take on Leonard Cohen's "Minute Prologue" and Prydwyn's lovely rendition of Syd Barrett's "Late Night," as well as Renner's solo take on the traditional "Jesus Gonna Make My Dying Bed," which Led Zeppelin used as inspiration for "In My Time of Dying." Also worthy: the Eyesores' "Shopping Cart," which weds a country/folk twang to a listing of some rather modern artifacts, a neat blend of now and then. - Ned Raggett Broken Face review: Various Artists - Poor Minstrels, Vol. 2 CD BlueSanct / Secret Eye CD, 4/5 stars The second Poor Minstrels compilation features bands who are in every case familiar names to Broken Face readers, since we've interviewed about half of the artists involved, and most of the others have been featured one way or another in these pages before now. No surprise then given our previous coverage that the quality of the contributions remain quite incredible all the way through the disc. Providence's the Iditarod delivers three excellent pieces of ancient folkishness where the Galbraith-esque take on "Blackwaterside" stands out as the most unexpected piece, while the aural meeting of forest and city in "Beech, Birch, Mountain Pine" is possibly the most rewarding one. Norwegian Ring is as charming as ever with his shivery, oddly structured folk pop. Judging by the dark, meandering folk nugget "A Mystery to Us All" former Broken Face cover star Peter Scion seems to have a similar affection to the forest as the Iditarod, while the mid-tempo rocker "Pretty Polly" showcases a somewhat different side, meshing shards of guitar feedback with distorted vocals. Mark Trecka aka Static Films runs Scout Niblett's "Wet Roads" through a blurry tunnel of melancholia, and on the other side we get a sort of lo-fi take on the track. Despite the original's obvious qualities, I'd easily choose this one. Michael Hopkins' one-man project Tinsel continues right where he left us the last we heard from him with more bleak but equally beautiful surrealistic soundscapes. And as if this wasn't enough, we get unique contributions from Timothy Renner, Drekka and Tiltmaster. Wyrd folk? Acid folk? Outsider folk? You can call it whatever you want as long as you give this one a spin. Raunend (Italy) review: Various Artists - Poor Minstrels, Vol. 1 CD Questa recensione avrei dovuto scriverla diverso tempo fa, lo ammetto. Ma proprio perché credo nell'assoluto valore di questa compilation, ho pensato di scrivere comunque queste righe. Fino a poco tempo fa, conoscevo solo per nome quest'opera, uscita dallo sforzo congiunto delle labels Bluesanct, Hand/Eye e Vent Recordings in occasione del primo tour dei Menestrelli della canzone e del tempio della luna. Un nome basato sull'interesse dei Templari conosciuti anche come "the poor knights of Christ and the temple of Solomon"; doveva esser usato per il titolo di un album ma poi nacque l'idea di questo tour che per l'occasione vede riunirsi "Stone breath", The iditarod, In gowan ring e Drekka sotto questo particolare monicker. Il CD che celebra questo tour si presenta con un ricco e ben illustrato booklet formato A5 dove possiamo trovare informazioni relative ai gruppi partecipanti ed a tutto quanto ruota attorno a questa scena: sideprojects, shops, labels, zines... Più di 70 minuti di musica folk suddivisa in 17 brani eseguiti dai quattro menestrelli ed una svariata quantità di side-project, collaborazioni e covers. Una musica folk fortemente influenzata dalla psichedelica e contaminata da sperimentazioni sonore da laboratorio... Si comincia con The iditarod che sommessamente aprono le danze con un lungo pezzo di folk delicato e gentile cantato da una voce femminile che dona al brano un'inquietante senso di solitudine. Interessanti le parti più "ritmate" dove entra in scena un violino. Si continua con In gowan ring che ci regalano una nuova bellissima versione di quel capolavoro che corrisponde al nome di "Dandelion wine" apparsa sul debutto "Love charms". Imperdibile. Dopo una incursione sonora nei meandri di un folk allucinato e distorto ad opera dei Drekka, una altra perla ad opera di Stone breath: un pezzo di folk acustico cantato a due voci (maschile e femminile) dalla melodia suadente e coinvolgente. Grandiosi. Altri nomi degni d'esser menzionati sono Timothy Renner che ci propone due ballate eseguite al banjo; The eyesores con un pezzo particolare molto interessante che unisce le atmosfere da ballata '800 a certa musica folk eseguita alla fisarmonica; Prydwyn che risulta forse esser l'artista più "non convenzionale" con quel suo timbro vocale alla Tracy Chapman (mi ha ricordato anche Antony & The Johnsons) che ci propone anche una versione stupenda di "Late night" di Syd Barrett. Un'altra cover la propongono i sempre bravi Stone breath: si tratta di un brano dei Pailhead, un progetto nato da membri di Ministry e Fugazi ecc. Dopo un grande brano per piano e voce di IGR eseguita dal solo B'Eirth, la compilation si chiude in modo bizzarro (cosa che ben si adatta a tutto il mood dell'opera) con una registrazione live di una processione in Nepal registrata da Michael dei Drekka. Benvenuti al carnevale della musica folk sperimentale! Raunend (Italy) review: Various Artists - Poor Minstrels, Vol. 2 CD Segue ad un anno di distanza il suo predecessore, questo nuovo capitolo dei Poveri menestrelli della canzone nato dalla collaborazione della Bluesanct e Secret Eye. Questa volta i nostri musicanti sono: Ring (NOR), Drekka (USA), Peter Scion (SWE) e The iditarod (USA). L'atmosfera che avvolge tutta l'opera è ben riassunta nel disegno di copertina: un cane, un uomo travestito da gatto e due scheletri che suonano, sovrastati della scritta "EXPERIMENTAL FOLK CARNIVAL". Nessuna definizione renderebbe di più! All'interno di questa ricca compilation troverete infatti tutto ciò che vi è di più bizzarro e sperimentale di quel genere che chiamiamo troppo genericamente folk. Niente a che vedere infatti qui con DIJ, o Blood Axis o atmosfere post-belliche post-industrial di europea memoria! Al massimo, potremmo trovare alcune somiglianze con gli In gowan ring più psichedelici... Credo con convinzione che i nomi qui proposti siano poco noti al cosiddetto "grande pubblico apocalittico"... soprattutto in Italia e quindi mi risulta difficile consigliare o meno questo lavoro. Si comincia con un buon pezzo degli Iditarod che unisce arpeggi acustici ed elettrici distorti con i ricami di un violino triste e sommesso mentre una delicata voce femminile (che mi ha ricordato gli Amber asylum) canta con tono pacato; si continua poi con Ring che ci presenta un pezzo ritmato dal forte sapore "folk made in USA" con un cantato un po' particolare. Peter Scion conclude questo piccolo trio iniziale di pezzi folk con un brano che personalmente ho apprezzato molto che racchiude al suo interno forti richiami country con una melodia orecchiabile veramente bella. Ma con Drekka il folk è solo un pretesto poiché le voci ed i suoni sono qui volutamente distorti e contorti ed amplificati creando sperimentazioni ad alta frequenza sonora. Inutile continuare elencando quanto proposto. Se sarete abbastanza coraggiosi per inoltrarvi in questo acido mondo, vi divertirete di più scoprendo voi stessi cosa si cela "oltre". Volendo però citarvi qualche nome, The spectral light &... ci deliziano con uno dei loro pezzi tradizionali davvero ottimo; Ring+The iditarod invece si adoperano nel registrare una grandiosa ballata folk (in senso tradizionale) molto poetica e delicata con una voce un po' particolare ma molto espressiva. Un nota a parte per il pezzo finale dove un'orchestra del grottesco ci tortura con la colonna sonora della fine del mondo dove tutti gli strumenti e suonatori paiono avere un loro preciso compito musicale nel creare una drammatica dis-armonia sonora. Dance while the world is burning... |