Reviews of new Acid Folk, Psych Folk, Folkrock, Prog Folk

Blue Sanct The Iditarod : The Ghost, The Elf, The Cat and The Angel (US,2002)***°

A beautiful release in balance with its moods, inventions, psychedelic tension, quite dreamy folk trance explorations, songs, and this completely acoustic. Recommended and with no doubt the best release of The Iditarod. I heard in my radio program already how talented this band really is. In the beginning after having heard their first release I still wondered how much because they balanced there between lo fi, sleepy experimenting and psychedelic folk. Their singles showed a much more powerful expression. And here also they adapted so much ideas to be in balance with all elements and areas involved and interested in, defining a creation of a beautiful atmosphere. The music can be described as a crossing between In Gowan Ring at its best with Fit and Limo, with some hints to Algärnas Trädgard. The CD has been made with the help of Fit & Limo thanks to mailing recordings. The whole recordings flows from one part of the story into the next. Music to dream away by. It was really hard task for me to pick out tracks for air play.

Soundfiles : "The Roots Of The Butterfly Bush" & "Afternoons Like This Are Hard To Come By"

Info on this release : http://www.bluesanct.com/cats/catalogue/descriptions/inri065.html

Iditarod bio : http://www.geocities.com/morctapes/iditarod/iditarod_bio.html

Reviews : http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/198 & http://www.tonevendor.com/item/5840

http://www.tollbooth.org/2002/reviews/id.html & http://www.opuszine.com/music/artist.html?artistID=508

& http://www.secreteye.org/theiditarod/reviews.html

More info at the Poor Mistrels Webpage. See next release->

E&J Rec. The Iditarod and Sharron Kraus : Yuletide (US,2003)***°

I looked forward very much to this release because I know what both the Iditarod and Sharron Kraus have made before and a combination of both talents should be promising.

The CD is as beautiful as expected, also very nicely produced.

With a beautiful semi-acoustic intro, "The Trees are all bare", a beautiful mixture of triple vocals, the sitar like droning of the tampura, echoed variedly coloured sounds of percussion, flutes, and something that sounds like a mixture of a harmonium with a harmonica ? It's a song that instrumentally sounds like a nightly Sufi-inspired lucid dream travel, but with a 70's UK Folk edge in song.

The version of The Iditarod with Sharron Kraus of the traditional "Lyke Wake Dirge" with harmonic voices, tribal drum, electric finger picking guitar and effects, and accordion with clarinet ? is magical.

The next track "Gift" starts with beautifully describing experimental acoustic and collage sounds, then continues with a ballad sung by a fragile angelic voice (Sharron) accompanied by finger picking and textured ambient sounds, and further on some clarinet and watery and airy sounds.

Also "Winter's Spell" is of a similar beauty. The instrumental part with fingerpickinging banjo with flute, bass and sparse cymbal percussion gives again a magical mood, reminiscent of the Timothy Renner project 'The Spectral Light and Moonshine Firefly Snakeoil Jamboree'. The instrumental textures in between are beautiful too, as experimental mini-overtures.

"Wintermute", with piano, and background instruments, reminds me a lot at groups like Midwinter and of the Mellow Candle demo on the Kissing Spell label. Made with an ear for musicality in sound.

The magical era of UK underground folkrock has been revived. Iditarod with Sharron Kraus have succeeded in becoming a new landmark. Highly recommended.

Audio : "Beautifully Twisted", "The Peacock's Wing", "Wintermute"

Label entry : http://www.elsieandjack.com/elsieandjack/eaj014.html

Other reviews : http://www.fakejazz.com/reviews/2003/iditarod3.shtml & http://www.aural-innovations.com/...

First Yuletide project (without Kraus & different, early recording !) : http://www.cameraobscura.com.au/cam063_2.htm

Other Iditarod release,reissued in 2007 is reviewed further down->

Sharron Kraus first release has been reviewed at http://singersong.homestead.com/folk2.html

Her second release at http://psychedelicfolk.com/acidfolkreview5.html

Morc Rec. The Iditarod : Kleine (US,1995-2002,re.2007)***

Sadly, the psychfolk group The Iditarod, after several CD releases, is already some time gone, since Jeffrey Alexander left the group to form another, more experimental acidfolk band, Black Forest/Black Sea, forming a completely new chapter in his personal history. Luckily, Morc records, who is in general supporting all kinds of home-feeling psychfolk loners and their recordings, didn’t mind that fact, and released the group’s cassette-only release of lo-fi, privately recorded tracks, and some live recordings, dating from 1995-2002.

These aren’t necessarily the group’s absolute best recordings, but they have their own real charm of private daydreaming, with its rather unique talent of ever changing inspired creativity-on-the-spot, something which reveals here and there some soft grey-shadows of experimenting with sound and instrument combinations, after moments of hazy muzings. This is a combination of instrumental acidic free-psychedelic folk instrumentals and improvisations, with use of some sound-creative experimenting instruments, combined with the seemingly more mood based songs. Hearing the tape back in this reissue, it still provides me a very moody, consistent listen, without providing any uplifting or highlighting tracks.

Iditarod is Carin Wagner : vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, piano 27, shruti box, casio, autoharp ; Jeffrey Alexander : electronics, phonograph, acoustic guitar, piano 27, fuzz guitar, phonorgan, strumstick, dulcimer, moog and tapes ; Matthew Everett : violin, ghosts, docealo and madoline guitarophone ; Margie Weink (now Fern Knight) : cello ; B’Eirth (now In Gowan Ring and Birch Book) : harp ; Alaister Galbraith : violin, casio, and electric guitar. Not all musicians are heard on each track except I assume for Carin Wagner and Jeffrey Alexander.

Audio : "Kleine"

Band info : http://www.morctapes.com/iditarod/index.html

Info : http://www.secreteye.org/theiditarod/discog.html

Label info : http://www.morctapes.com/iditarod/kleine.html

& http://www.myspace.com/morctapes