Freak Folk Shmreak Shmolk

Loren Chasse

The Blithe Sons head off into the sunset.

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More About

• Loren Chasse
• Glenn Donaldson
• Hala Strana
• Donovan Quinn
• Folk Music

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And finally, there is this intense little disc titled Winged Leaves by the Ivytree. The Ivytree is Donaldson somber, quiet, and alone with his quiet falsetto, which resembles that of a medium channeling. Wounded, broken phrases repeatedly evaporate into a choked, dead-of-night cry, the backdrop being a compacted blend of barely picked six-string, banjo, and baroque touches of tambourine, whistle, pitch pipe, and bells. Throughout the disc, these vocal-lead trances alternate with equally expressive instrumentals: minimal but dense layers of muted organ, softly crackling radio static, and accordion. I turned numb on my first listening as I reached the disc's midway point. So I switched on my computer and began typing, "I know who the best acid-folk singer in the Bay Area is and his name isn't Joanna Newsom or Six Organs of Admittance it's --," and I stopped because that sentence is so totally boring; it doesn't understand the mystery. So I just closed my eyes.