a r t i s t : Fursaxa
t i t l e : Alone In The Dark Wood
d a t e : 2007
l a b e l : ATP
g e n r e : Folk
r l s. d a t e : Apr/2007
t r a c k s : 13
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 45,2 MB
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Alone in the Dark Wood is the fifth full-length release from
West Philly-based solo artist TAra Burke aka Fursaxa who
boasts a fan base with the likes of Bardo Pond, Acid Mothers
Temple and Thurston Moore who released a record by her on his
Ecstatic Peace! imprint. A previous member of the band UN,
Burke is now one of the epicentres and key collaborators of
the North American free-folk movement, along with such
luminaries as Jack Rose, Charalambides, Ben Chasny and the
Jewelled Antler Collective. With her hypnotic, echo-y
churchbell chanting, Burke possesses a power-filled vocal
sound that harkens back not only to those other polar queens
of disaffected freakout psychedelia Nico and Barbara Manning,
but she is also akin to and inspired by Hildegard von Bingen,
the 12th-century Benedictine mystical abbess. With the low
drone of chord organ and Farfisa, detuned ringing guitar, and
endlessly looped, multiply-tracked vocals applied with heaps
of delay, Fursaxa sounds like a tripped-out medievalist
perched upon a poppy petal. Burke has an alchemical knack for
turning folk into lo-fi, and then into sheer psych and back
again, but more importantly, her music is pure humming
narcosis.
Review --
Just as I was getting a little jaded and tired of the whole
free-folk thing (okay, I wasn't really... but I can dream), a
record like 'Alone in the Dark Wood' comes along to wake me
from my apathy. Oh well, I should have known that Tara Burke
would pull out all the stops for her latest full length; the
psychey lady has been a lynchpin of the whole scene for so
long now, with albums on Jewelled Antler, Digitalis and
Ecstatic Peace putting her bang in the middle of the
psych-folk map. It's hardly surprising really, her list of
fans and followers is seemingly endless, and her sound (which
she began to explore back in 1999) has served to influence
many more recent additions to the canon (Grouper or Islaja for
instance...) so it's great to hear her make such a triumphant
return. I'd like to say that 'Alone in the Dark Wood' is not
one for the uninitiated, but playing it now reminds me of a
time when I really hadn't heard much of this kind of music û
there's a purity and a deep sense of calm that I feel would
easily win over new listeners. Since her last 'proper'
full-length 'Lepidoptera' she has incorporated further
elements of sacred music, apparently taking influence from
Hildegard von Bingen, the 12th-century Benedictine mystical
abbess. I can't say I've managed to hear this particular music
before, but I can certainly put a finger on the 12th century
Benedictine sound in Burke's compositions and improvisations û
'Nawne Ye' for instance, one of the album's stand-out tracks,
is basically just an unaccompanied series of chants, layered
over each other to create a swirling wordless fog of spiritual
sound. It's not all nuns on the run mind you, Burke's
carefully crafted pastoral folk is still present and sounds
better than ever, as usual caked in recording crackle and
sounding like the master tapes were submerged beneath a few
thousand years' worth of mud and clay. If you're a dedicated
follower of Thuja or the various Jewelled Antler splinters
(Franciscan Hobbies, Child Readers etc) then this record will
no doubt take you into sub-levels of paradise you've never
before encountered. There's something about hearing an artist
creating in their element, at ease with their surroundings
that is totally arresting and absolutely fulfilling, and
'Alone in the Dark Wood' is easily Burke's most compelling and
complete statement to date. Follow the trail of breadcrumbs
and step up to the gingerbread house; this is a dark wood that
it's worth getting lost in. Huge recommendation! -boomkat
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01-Intro [00:17]
02-Lunaria Enters The Blue Lodge [03:25]
03-Bells Of Capistrano [02:48]
04-Drinking Wine In Yarrow [01:28]
05-Black Haw [03:17]
06-Cle Elum [01:47]
07-Alone In The Dark Wood [04:37]
08-Nawne Ye [02:21]
09-Sheds Her Skin [03:48]
10-In The Hollow Mink Shoal [03:21]
11-Rattling The Calabash [04:10]
12-Birds Inspire Epic Bards [02:07]
13-Of Tubal Cain [02:24]
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35:50 min