ARTIST: Currituck County
TITLE: Sleepwalks In The Garden Of The Deadroom
LABEL: Track & Field Records
GENRE: Indie
TIME: 40:31 min
SIZE: 47,6 MB
RIP DATE: Apr-25-2005
RELEASE DATE: Apr-18-2005
WEBSITE: www.currituckcounty.com
Track List:
01. Paid For Grace 06:15
02. I Went Outside Today 05:05
03. 8pm On A Friday 05:14
04. Sleepwalking I 02:41
05. Run Away From The Sun 02:48
06. One Too Many Comforts 04:16
07. Wisdom Of The Weeks 10:30
08. Sleepwalking II 03:42
Release Notes:
Novelty is massively overrated: new towns, New
Musical Express, New Labouràeverything worse than
before, served with a patina of brightly coloured
ænow!Æ to mask the putressence beneath. ItÆs
refreshing and somewhat warming then to hear an
interpretation of traditional music that taps the
wellsprings of folk and bluegrass but doesnÆt have a
æbest beforeÆ tag attached.
Kevin Barker (Currituck Co.) is a part of the whole
experimental folk scene that includes Devendra
Banhart, Vetiver and Joanna Newsom, with whom heÆs
played. He has some of John Fahey in his stunning
guitar playing, plus the acoustic melancholy of Nick
Drake and Elliott Smith. He says that his music is
ôpsychedelic folkö and his dreamy, wistful pop with
angular edges contains both elements: æSleepwalking
IÆ is a gorgeous alt-country collation of acoustic
guitar, strings and piano while æOne Too Many
ComfortsÆ has a hazy, bee-droning folky sweetness
and melodic kick that sounds like the Velvet
Underground crashing out in Ivor CutlerÆs living
room. Meanwhile, æWisdom of the WeeksÆ is an epic
ten minute Byrds-style Eastern raga. But most
impressive is the way he shocks you out of any
old-timey reverie with a blast of the unexpected;
after the acoustic picking and soft melodies of æ8pm
on a FridayÆ the way the electric guitar cuts
through it like a chainsaw is a revivifying shocker,
while æSleepwalking IIÆ begins as a melodic,
acoustic number until over-excited electric guitars
crash and destroy the party.
Barker owes his integrity to the tradition he draws
on and heÆs true to it. ItÆs difficult to penetrate
at first because of the music is an older, almost
classical language but once your ears adjust to the
less fevered pace, youÆll discover the most stunning
playing and affecting melodies youÆve heard in a
long time.