Despite its namesake, Spectre Folk is not flavor-of-the-month, indie-psychedelic campfire music played through an acid-coated filter, but rather the haunting and ruminative compositions of the dark forests and moonlit lakes beyond. Written and conceived by Magik Marker Pete Nolan, with help from brood members Julie Tomlinson-Nolan and Violet Nolan, Compass, blanket, lantern, mojo, his second full-length release under the Spectre Folk banner, is dissonant and organic: humming guitars mingled with tape echoes, vibes, and found sounds. Although it lurks in the same sonic vicinity as Vanishing Voice and Wooden Wand, Compass, with its plodding sense of experimentation, carves out a niche significant enough to sound fresh. The album is too fully realized to allow Spectre Folk to be considered a “side project,” as it exudes mood and atmosphere that falls well outside the no-wave noise-mongering of the Magik Markers.

With a patient interplay between traditional instrumentation and atmospheric space, this vinyl-only release is a mature record budding with mystique and unexpected turns. Rhythm is embedded into the mix in favor of ambient melody. Instrumental tracks like “Dusty’s Rag,” “8 Foot Wings” and “Toot! Toot!” provide the record’s sonic theme, as they churn under vibes and long-form electric guitar drones. “Groovy Garbage Man” builds on this with its feedback-laden narrative. And “Ages Have Passed” merges these with Krautrock tendencies. Only with “Burning Bridge,” the album’s focal point and only track to possess more traditional structure, is Compass’ overall sense of spontaneity temporarily abandoned for a beautifully unhinged blues song. It breezily creeps forth under acoustic guitar chords that swell toward and ultimately recede from pop dynamics, all while building feedback blares into the mix, lifting the song to a dramatic climax.

Most compelling, however, is Compass’ density. A requisite for full appreciation of this record, headphones reveal profound depth beyond its guitars and wayward vocal effects. There amid the humming field recordings, desolate electronics, and cooing children (Violet Nolan) are tracks whose creation required not only imagination, but also love. For Spectre Folk, this notion leaves wide and intriguing territory upon which to make future records. And for the adventurous musical wanderings of Pete Nolan, Compass, blanket, lantern, mojo signals yet another dimension to be explored. – by Jeff Roesgen

_Spectre Folk MySpace

Fredrik is a sound artist / songwriter duo of dimension-travelling forest foxes. Fredrik (the latter) was born under a lake and sings. Lindefelt (the former) is from another planet. They now live in Sweden and create music with the help of darkness, wind, acoustic instruments, curiosity, nightmares and sound-making oddities
In a lot of ways, Trilogi picks up right where Fredrik’s debut, Na Na Ni, ended. Fredrik Hultin’s smoothly volatile voice and earnest northern european folk compositions sit indistinguishably on top of Lindefelt’s brushed, shadowy rhythms and trademark electronica-before-electricity washes of sound. However, in addition to the nylon-string guitars, the humming, the howling, the music boxes and the assortment of bells we’ve come to expect from the Fredrik sound, the duo also brings in more horns and strings as well as substantial noise and drone elements into the music. Combined with a more even pacing – across three distinct episodes of the record – Trilogi offers more in terms of contrast and coloration and a decidedly darker, almost “rural noir” tone.

This time around, the song titles are in swedish, featuring strange unforgettables like Vinterbarn (winter child), Den Sista Fabriken (the last factory) and Vanmyren (the “un-mire”) to name a few. The lyrics, however all in english, strike a similar balance of obscurity and allure.

Overall, Trilogi is a challenging but soothing follow-up and a beautifully hushed, ethereal testament of progressive rock so disconcerned with contemporary hypes and trends it’s impossible not to think of words like “original” and “timeless”, as much as one would strive to.

_Fredrik MySpace

Through original and unusual melodic arrangements, beautiful vocal harmonies, and attention to song craft Inoculist creates an uncompromising scape of eerie pop that unfolds further with each listen. Founded in 2005 by band-leader (and former Matty & Mossy member) John Hunter (guitar, vocals). The band currently operates as a four-piece with Ashlyn Davis (keys, vocals), Ethan Schmid (drums, banjo), and Marc Merza (bass).

Free Press Houston praised Inoculist’s performance at SXSW 2009 as “a treat….John Hunter’s baritone found its perfect compliment with Ashlyn Davis’ soft understated voice…”. The Village Voice plants Inoculist “somewhere between Low and the post-Vashti folkaverse-stark guitars abedded by syrupy swirls, glockenspiels, and perfect “off” guy-girl harmonies like Richard and Linda or John and Exene”.

Look for their upcoming full-length “Spells” to be released by Heart Break Beat (www.heartbreakbeatrecords.com) in the early spring of 2010.

_Inoculist MySpace

Please note this performance is on Saturday, April 17th. Record Store Day!!! The band will be playing sets throughout the day, starting at 1pm!!

At a time when music descended from “punk” and “new wave” has been reduced to it’s most rudimentary and lo-fi elements, Mystery of Two continues to pursue the original artistic aspirations of the genre—-believing that art and music can be unfamiliar and challenging, without sacrificing accessibility. Much like their musical touchstones—The Feelies, The Voidoids, Talking Heads, and Pere Ubu— Mystery of Two follow the axiom that the unconventional can be created through paramount musicianship, attention to song-craft, and sonic structuring.

Their self – titled follow up to 2006’s Arrows Are All You Know, finds Mystery of Two further traversing the boundaries of experimental pop, and no where is this more evident than in the masterful guitar playing of singer / guitarist Ryan Weitzel. Channeling Robert Quine (Voidoids) and Richard Lloyd (Television), Weitzel and cohorts create songs that convey a sense of urgency and immediacy, which at times evolve into turbulences reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr.

Vocally, Weitzel has been described as a baritone fusion of David Byrne and Nick Cave, which masterfully accompanies the dark sound-scapes and lyrical content created by the band. Steadied by the pop-gun drumming of Nick Riley and stalwart bass playing of Jeff Deasy. the palpable energy of this trio is captured in these “live take” recordings, which were later augmented by unique instrumentation unfamiliar to their pedigree (violin, trumpet, slide guitar). As a result of their chemistry, energy, and effort, Mystery of Two succeeds in creating an updated aesthetic to the timeless work that emanated from the Bowery over three decades ago

Mystery of Two’s album was one of our favorites of 2009. We are SO excited to have them in the store for this performance, and can’t recommend enough that you mark your calendar and DON’T MISS THIS IN-STORE!!

_Mystery Of Two MySpace