Tag Archive: Whisperin’ & Hollerin’


HJALTALÍN – MAKING MADNESS WORK

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September 12, 2013

The band – Högni Egilsson is the bearded blonde.

It’s not exactly clear what exactly happened during the four-year period after Hjaltalín‘s last album, Terminal,in 2009.

What is clear is that their new record new record – Enter 4 – is the sound of a band reborn.

Reading between the lines it seems that the Icelandic band’s frontman Högni Egilsson almost went crazy, literally. There is talk of time spent in and out of mental institutions.

As any student of rock knows, madness can act as a creative spur to greatness as well as being a destroyer of talent.

Thankfully, it seems that this experience Egilsson has inspired him to cut the bullshit and write songs of soul bearing honesty.

As my my review in Whisperin’ & Hollerin’ says, the album is not without its flaws but it is a huge leap forward for the band.

Watch the video for Crack In The Stone to get a taster:

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ORLA WREN – ASHES FROM A LONG FIRE

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September 5, 2013
Tui - aka Orla Wren

Tui – aka Orla Wren

Book Of The Folded Forest by Orla Wren on Home Normal is a magical album which merits a 10 star review on Whisperin’ & Hollerin’.

The CD comes with a DVD containing seven video representations of the songs.

The one below is the last track on the album with images by Skinofthetree and vocals by Paddy Mann.

Hinny Pawsey plays fiddle and Tui (Mr. Orla Wren) adds all the sonic trickery.

An amazing song from an amazing record.
https://vimeo.com/70368095

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THE RETURN OF SLACKER COUNTRY

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August 26, 2013

scudsScud Mountain Boys made two albums in 1995 while sitting around a kitchen table.

Their chief lyricist Joe Pernice explained : “None of us like particularly polished recordings. We like little mistakes and stuff”

They started out as a rock band called the Scuds named after the missiles fired in the Gulf War but realised that playing slow tempo ‘slacker country’ was more fun than plugging in and playing loud.

These two albums – Pine Box & Dance The Night Away have now been re-re-released by One Little Indian as The Early Year.

Not only that, but after 14 years of not speaking to one another, the boys have kissed and made up.

They have a new record which poses the question: Do You Love The Sun?

This title may sound bright and optimistic but the boys are not much cheerier than they were last century.

If miserablist lo-fi country is your bag then go to it.

Here are the links to my reviews for Whisperin’ & Hollerin’
The Early Year (Pine Box & Dance The Night Away)
Do You Love The Sun?

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ADAM STAFFORD IN ROCKLAND

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August 19, 2013

Cover to Imaginary Walls Collapse

Y’all Is Fantasy Island is not a name that rolls off the tongue easily and when this Indie band from Falkirk, Scotland split in 2010 few grieved and  many, myself included, didn’t even know they existed.

I came across them while reviewing the excellent new album by Adam Stafford who was the band’s lead singer and driving force.

Stafford has his own record label Wise Blood Industries (which I like to think was named after Flannery O’Connor’s sublime novel) and if you go to the label website you will find a link to a zipped file containing the complete works of Y’all Is Fantasy Island –  55 songs and 5 albums.

The cynic in me thought that if he was now giving all these away tracks they must have been crap so I was, to coin an overused phrase, blown away by how good they are/were. An album called No Ceremony is particularly impressive.

Sure, it is derivative (what isn’t?) but they have processed their influences in a way that sounds pretty dynamic to my ears. You can tell they had fully absorbed their albums of gothic alt.country like Songs:Ohio and Will Oldham’s various incarnations of Palace together with a healthy diet of Grunge. It will cost you nothing to take a listen for yourself.

And while you’re about it you really must near the aforementioned Adam Stafford solo album called Imaginary Walls Collapse and is out now on Song, By Toad Records. Continue reading →

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WORSHIPPING AT THE OUTER CHURCH

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August 4, 2013

Tomorrow sees the official launch of a double CD of cutting edge sounds from the UK underground by Manchester’s Front & Follow records.

The Outer Church is not an occult gathering place but a musical event in Brighton and obviously a place of pagan worship for musicians with no interest in pandering to mainstream tastes.

The 28 previously unreleased tracks showcase the artists who have appeared there.

These have been selected by The Wire’s Joseph Stannard and I can vouch for the fact that the quality is exceptionally high throughout.

You can read my review of the album here and find out more about the album and all matters related at tumblr.

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