Feather one's nest
Joshua : Gold Cosmos (US,2001)***°
I expected much from this CD, because of the guest appearance of Six Organce of Admittance (review of an item on the raga-guitar page), Dredd Foole (unknown to me), Noah Wall from Jukeboxer (unknown to me), PG Six (review above this one, here on the acid folk page), Matt Moran (Sideshow) and Matt Valentine from Tower Recordings (remarks at the poor minstrels page). Although in the scene of such groups, there appears some droning folk (which is not my cup of tea) I hoped that with these musicians that it would show the best of each talent, so that the music would speak more than from mostly a droning mode. (The latest Tower Recordings in this way disappointed me, while I found the group at its best before with some of their unsober song orientated tracks)...
On this release we hear a kind of poor man's house-bluesy raga psych folk. At first on the edge of an inspirational momentry brooding of expression, with remarkable moments of original acoustic experiments (on "goose,save baby /lost motherhood") until almost falling-asleep-and-motionless awakening, amidst quiet spaces with no sound around (on "look floating"), and with the potential of the dawn and creation of a newly born 'it's now Man's nature' (on "Pencil Lavene"), with murmuring words and songs, which sound like hope and peace, as the movement of human creation itself in a bodily motionless state. During the filmic listenening appearance one uncovers beauty lying underneath things. And there is indeed much musical interaction / changes of expression by a variety of instruments / with a tempered smooth creativity, keeping balance between improvisation, composition and musical experimental invention, creating new sounds and ideas, accompanied by raga like, relaxed but never dull, so still evolving rhythms, like quiet waters enlightened by small lights.
A fine album, which fulfilled my expectations. For quiet rainless evenings, envisioning clouds or trees and objects in a distance.
