Reviewed: The Garden of Forking Paths (Curated by James Blackshaw); Cursillistas

Various Artists - The Garden of Forking Paths
Important



This five song disc curated by plucker James Blackshaw shines a bright, glowing light on the various abstractions to behold in folk’s modern rebirth. Other than a cut from Blackshaw himself, we’re treated to the transcendent sounds of Jozef van Wissem (Blackshaw’s musical partner in Brethren of the Free Spirit), Helena Espvall (of Espers) and Chieko Mori.

Each track serves a powerful purpose: Display the prowess, versatility and magnificence of the solo stringed instrument. It just so happens that Chieko Mori embodies Blackshaw’s mantra by bookending The Garden of Forking Paths with two distinctly different explorations. Album opener “Spiral Wave” is a gritty descent into folk’s netherworld. To reference a well-known folk icon, imagine a Nick Drake LP switched to the slowest setting a victrola will concede. Mori’s conclusion, “Tokyo Light,” is the polar opposite of “Spiral Wave,” visiting her Japanese roots with the melodies most Westerners associate with the land of the rising sun.

Espvall’s “Home of Shadows and Wirlwinds,” lends The Garden of Forking Paths an angular, experimental edge. It plays host to a screeching string section happily interrupting a minor concerto Mozart would have found mesmerizing. Jozef’s lute piece “The Mirror of Eternal Light,” plays around with dramatic pauses and quiet space before blossoming into a richly textured pluck and pull.

If this disc does nothing more than introduce you to a few new sounds, then Blackshaw will be pleased to find his work was not in vain. The Garden of Forking Paths delivers 45+ minutes of attention-grabbing solo work that should not be ignored by connoisseurs.

Release Date: Available Now

Highlights: “Spiral Wave”, “The Mirror of Eternal Light”, “Tokyo Light”

Sounds Like: James Blackshaw, Jandek, Espers, L

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Cursillistas - Wasp Stings the Last Bitter Flavor
Digitalis/ACE




Matt Lajoie—mastermind behind Portland, Maine’s L’animaux Tryst label—returns as Cursillistas. This time, with the help of Nemo Birdstrup and Sparrow Wildchild, Lajoie delves deeper into folk’s freakish heart. The man who once strived to be create traditional folk in the vein of Nick Drake or Iron & Wine now cuts the cord for good with fervent results.

The twisted metal and folksy carnage throughout Wasp Stings provide another weapon in the fight for folk’s revival. More and more listeners are beginning to take notice of folk’s latest movement and though many of the frontline troops have moved on, it’s soldiers like Lajoie who have come along to scrap up the remains to incorporate them into the surge. Wasp Stings holds fast to tribal beats, echo chambers, and chugging rhythms—but it’s the presence of Lajoie’s older influences that shape Wasp Stings. Though the album’s landscape may look to the future, it’s Lajoie’s finger on the pulse of his early influences that gives Wasp Stings heart. Much of ‘new’ folk is vast and cold—but there is warmth within Wasp Stings.

Release Date: Available Now

Highlights: “Treestain”, “Moccasin Tramp”, “Happened in the Sun/Moccasin Stamp”

Sounds Like: MV + EE, Avey Tare, WWVV, Father Yod