Search - Owl Service :: Garland of Song (Dig)

Folk Revival and Then Some

WP | Earth | 04/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When you first hear this disc, you may think you're in for a rehash of 70s folk-rock stalwarts such as Fairport and Steeleye -- the first track is remarkably similar in sound, theme, and atmosphere to the opening track of "Liege and Lief." But no, it's not so! This is, in my opinion, a much more mature manifestation of the same force that drove Fairport back into the Child Ballads and the depths of British tradition. It's more mature because it brings to the table the sensibilities of all the "alternative" music scenes of the intervening generation. There is an edge here, a darkness, which is just incredible. Listen carefully to the arrangements, the guitar sounds, the sinuous rhythm section. If I could sum up in a phrase, I would simply say that this music is more deeply pagan, and much more genuine in speaking the meaning of the tradition in contemporary musical idiom. I think time will prove this to be one of the best English folk-rock albums ever made."