Search - Drovers :: Little High Sky Show

A work of psychedelic genius

Zen McMaster | New Mexico, USA | 10/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Drovers were well above average in their previous incarnation as a rock-n-reel band, but they are PHENOMENAL as a psychedelic band. This record explores, and I'd even say 'invents', a completely different genre from the straightforward rock-n-reel of "World of Monsters". It should be filed nowhere near Celtic music at all, but rather among the all-time greats of warm, dreamy psychedlia like Brian Eno's "Another Green World" and Luna's "Bewitched". "Little High Sky Show" is gorgeously textured, with a beautifully fuzzy, distorted sound that is out-of-phase with the everyday world in the most comfortable, soothing, organic way. The wistful, melancholy songwriting woven with this dreamy musical texture is spellbinding. These four guys were visited by a very special muse when this unexpected work of genius "happened", and one can only hope that it reaches the ears of not just their largely disappointed Celtic rock following but also the connoisseurs of psychedelia and the avante-garde. And anyone who happens to appreciate both incarnations of this band will marvel at the breadth of their talent."

Weird and ambitious

Peter | Chicago, IL | 08/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An unexpected departure from the formula of World of Monsters, it's clear the songwriters Kirkpatrick and Callahan are striving for a new sound that eschews rock-n-reel conventions, while maintaining devotion to the folkish textures and Afro/Celtic rhythms that they clearly enjoy. It's also one of the most compelling-sounding records in the Drovers' catalog and sounds great in headphones. "If I'm welcome here, I'm too high to care," Callahan declares on the opening track, Singlewing, in what appears to be the band's statement of purpose for the rest of the record, which unfolds as if a dream, growing blurrier and weirder by the moment. Little High Sky Show conjures up visions of a desert trek with swirling guitars and violins, epic-sounding drums and lyrics that seem to pay homage to obstinance (something about a girl who "comes when she wants to" and a donkey). Sandy Candy unfolds like a tsunami in which a ghostly voice sings "sometimes for inspiration, I would think of someone else" over a furious jig rhythm of electric guitars and mandolins. Then comes Toy, a creepy, catchy ditty with alternately wistful and ominous strings and a bouncy beat. If You Cry Elizabeta is a tender Kirkpatrick classic about love lost, with a rich combination of warm electric guitars and ringing mandolins. Different Stars takes the same basic instruments, but kicks up the energy to Zeppelinesque levels that features the band's most stunning drum work. This work-out is followed by the austere Too Late Ghost, an electric guitar and pump organ duet with keening vocals. But it is only the eye of this storm, as the band pumps up the energy one last time for the baroque and trippy 20 plus minute opus, The Bag, which really seems like a four-song suite or a rock operetta of some sort, full of cryptic references to underworld deities and drug deals and, of course, pounding drums and shredding fiddle parts. The Bag shows the Drovers at their heaviest, displaying a ferocity that's missing from World of Monsters. Maybe this is why they opted to record parts of the album with the notoriously edgy Chicago producer Steve Albini. This album is an excellent showcase of their sense of adventure and their imagination."

A Celtic Pink Floyd meets the Beatles with an Irish twist.

Zen McMaster | 10/06/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was truly amazed at the innovative sounds coming off of this album. One minute you think you are enveloped in an orchestra of Pink Floyd, and the next you can't help stomping to the traditional tunes of violins, mandolins, and pipes. You name an instrument, and it can be found on this creative work of genious by song writers Mike Kirkpatrick, and David Callahan. Worth your $$$$$. This group should be in the home of every music fan."