TLR 019: spectre folk — requiem for ming aralia CD
$10.00 -
available as a digital download from 
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released march, 2006. leaping forth from a prior discography consisting of CDRs and cassettes, spectre folk's requiem for ming aralia is a powerfully assured psychedelic folk statement. spectre folk is a one-man operation consisting of pete nolan (drums for the magik markers, shackamaxon, ghq, virgin eye blood brothers, wooden wand & the vanishing voice, etc.). nolan's significant responsibilities elsewhere have made him into a man who rarely has a chance to slow down. spectre folk offers the listener the ability to glimpse at one of those rare calm moments and it showcases the delicately twisted calm bubbling underneath the drumming furor nolan unleashes elsewhere. the beauty present in this uneasy tranquility certainly makes three lobed recordings proud to release requiem for ming aralia as spectre folk's first full-length CD.
ranging from atmospheric instrumental explorations to dark and moody sing-alongs, requiem for ming aralia offers a little bit of everything for fans of "out" music. from the opening moments of the first track to the final notes of the album-closing "bindi clip," spectre folk has crafted an extremely solid album packed with rich, full sounds. "tendrils floating fastly," the album's first song, is an epic where textured crystalline guitars and various pulsing tones engaged in a prolonged ten minute battle. drone revisionist c. spencer yeh (burning star core) contributes to the joyful din by adding some tweaked electronics to nolan's guitar work on "indianana." not content to rest exclusively with instrumentation alone, "been here and gone," "you showed me" and "drowning" all reveal a gentle, natural vocal delivery which results in a trio of delicate folk goodness. unwilling to leave things calm and complacent, nolan turns in a truly inspired and evil performance for guitar, drums, and voice while simultaneously upping the ante near the album's conclusion with "the pointed horn."
iä! shub-niggurath!