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Far Black Furlong and Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voice
Far Black Furlong “Full Gathering Moon” 3”cd (Hand/Eye) January, 2006
This is part of Hand/Eye’s “Folklore of the Moon” (it
arrived in as a “bonus” cd in company with the Wooden Wand & the Vanishing
Voice cd reviewed below) series, and according to the little slip of paper that
accompanies it, was recorded in a Welsh garden, early Winter, 2003 AD. The first track on the cd, “Etched in a
Silver Round,” starts gently, with sparse guitar, piano, and the lonesome sound
of what I believe to be clarinet (it’s kind of embarrassing that I can’t always
recognize exactly what instrument is being used, but there you have it). The overall effect is wintery and
melancholy. The song swells and recedes
as it progresses, like a cold tide. Due
to its sparseness and lack of any real focusing point, I’m guessing that it’s
improvised – not really a complaint, but I could see it failing to hold my
attention if I wasn’t in the proper mood to begin with. The second song, “Far Black Furlong,” is
similar, but much shorter. Before I knew
it, the poetry recital, performed by a solemn, female voice, of the third and
last song, “Icy Solstice Eye,” had taken over.
It is, as one might guess, about the moon, and is effective in conveying
the coldness and loneliness of Winter. In mood, if not in method, it reminds me a bit
of Tor Lundvall. Check out www.Gazetree.com for further
information. Far Black Furlong also
features Richard Moult, the man behind the as-yet-to-be-released orchestral
interpretation of Current 93’s “Soft Black Stars.” Check out his Myspace page here.
Wooden Wand & The Vanishing Voice “How the Winds Are Born By You (Bumblebee, AZ)” 3"cd (Hand/Eye). The Folklore of the Moon Volume X, . Full Cold Moon
The minimal liner notes state that this piece was recorded in the desert during the summer of 2005. The song starts out with loud, monotonous percussion, which goes thunk thunk tick thunk for the first third of the song before giving way to a slightly different rhythm played on hand drums and shakers. Underneath it all, seeming to come from a nearby dry wash or up in a distant saguaro, is guitar, more rattly bits, and occasional vocalizations. Some sort of wind instrument is utilized as well. I think it would have been much more effective if the percussion wasn’t so overwhelming in the mix, or maybe the percussion just needed to be more interesting. The whole piece sounds like it was improvised, and was probably a lot of fun to play, given the location. I can picture a bunch of people with instruments out amongst the sage brush at twilight performing a musical ritual. To bad the finished product is a bit underwhelming. One of those, “you had to be there,” moments, I’m afraid. I don’t mean to sound too harsh, but I’m a veteran of some similar musical moments, and I’m aware that they don’t always turn out how you think they should.
I may explore Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voice
further at some point because
they seem to get a lot of favorable press.
Whatever their magic is though, it’s not evident on this cd. In the meantime, we can all check out http://woodenwand.sinkhole.net/
