Some of you may be familiar with the so-called "Jewelled Antler Collective."
I say so-called because I have never heard of them acting collectively,
nor have I witnessed their aforementioned antlers. Bands under their
jewelled umbrella include Blithe sons, Skygreen Leopards, Dead Raven
Choir, Thuja (an acronym, I suspect), and numerous other
eyebrow-raisingly named acts. All the bands are extremely lo-fi, in
fact one hallmark of JAC bands is their tendency to record their songs
outside, like on a cliff outside, or in the forest outside, not on the
porch. It's not really a gimmick, though it tends to add a quantity of
a quality to the releases I've heard from them (a small fraction).
One man seems to be a thread of continuity between several of them, a Mr. Glenn Donaldson. He plays in several of the bands mentioned, but also has, like everyone else, his own solo career to think about. He released a short EP as Ivytree ~2 years ago, an eerie little thing called The Sun is the Lamp, only 18 minutes long but quite interesting. Later, he released Orchards and Caravans under the name the Birdtree. I listened to this at the time and found it overly droney and not very well differentiated from other crazy folk music I was listening to at the time. Just recently, however, he released his second album under Ivytree, an LP called Winged Leaves. This is the one I am now recommending.
The album vibrates between menacing drones and beautiful, wistful songs comprised of lightly plucked guitar, some kind of ethereal organ, Donaldson's fragile voice, and the occasional birdcall. Actually, incessant birdcalling is more like it, but only enough to remind you that he is in a forest, singing to you. "Flood" kicks it off scarily, and you're afraid you bought something by Wolf Eyes, but it calms down to something being bowed and one minute later, "Book of Job" starts, your first taste of the calm and lovely songwriting to come. Don't try too hard to understand what he's talking about, there are clearly words being sung and sometimes you will hear "green meadow" or some such, but to make the voice into anything but another instrument is to devalue it. Next is the title track, another subdued song, lyrics slightly more decodable. "Winged Leaves (Reprise)", the next track is, if you can believe it, just the sound of leaves in the wind. I'll not bore you more with further track-by-track commentary.. well just one more. The standout track, in my opinion, is undeniably "Churches." It sounds like it was recorded in a soup can at the bottom of his shower, when he's just finished crying his eyes out over a dead bird. It's long and beautiful and totally organic.
Of course, the other tracks have merit too, but this post will certainly be longer than anyone will read and I doubt I will even scroll down this far, so I'll spare me the trouble.
Like a certain medieval hot period that has been "smoothed" out of existence just because it was inconvenient. But then again, that must not be a "surprise" to you and all those "respected scientists" you talk of. Because to you it is clearly all about respect really and how you get to that position where you have it so you can throw it around like it adds up to something, everything else is just a background.
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