Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Brigid Power Ryce - "You Are Here" EP....OUT NOW!!
Rusted Rail is proud to announce the release of “You Are Here” a five song EP by Brigid Power Ryce. Recorded in Philadelphia with Eric Carbonara and in London at ToeRag studios with Liam Watson, these transatlantic sessions capture Brigid’s steel strung out cosmic folk ballads. As Rusted Rail's newest discovery, Brigid Power Ryce’s stellar yet earthy folk-blues stylings and languid lullabies are sure to hypnotise. This 3inch hand-stamped EP/mini-album is housed in a handmade sleeve.
"Proving that the ladies can be equally as tormented, Brigid Power Ryce’s “You Are Here” has a melancholia coursing through it that congeals in the yowling sadness of her voice. ‘Like A Sun’ in particular makes a deep impression, with its downhearted 12-string strumming framing the vocals perfectly, recalling heartbreaks as old as time. It’s appealingly under-produced, making Power-Ryce’s long dark night of the soul even crueller." – Shindig Magazine
A truly outstanding release on one of my favourite labels. Two of these tracks were recorded at ToeRag Studios and the other three in Philadelphia by Eric Carbonara and the sound on all five is warm and full. Brigid plays 12 string guitar and sings with a languid free-flowing style, reminiscent of Tim Buckley. Highly recommended – Boa Melody Bar
Five track ep on the Irish-based label Rusted Rail from avant folk artist Brigid Power Ryce. recorded in Philadelphia with Eric Carbonara and also in London at Toe Rag studios with Liam Watson. The ep features some beautifully haunting avant-folk sounds from this Galway-based artist. Its a lovely raw kind of stripped down sound simply featuring steel-strung acoustic guitar picking and vocals. Almost like a more rustic Cat Power with the weirdness of Joanna Newsom. Comes in a lovely hand stamped three inch card sleeve, all lovingly hand made by the Rusted Rail label. – Road Records
Brigid Power Ryce's voice wistfully swoops through this eerie folk tidbit, accompanied only by minimal, bluesy guitar strokes...these songs otherwise bear an appealing, sepulchral campfire sound. Resigned dirge "Wild Grin" and lachrymose "Lost Night Girls" both exhibit this poignantly mysterious charm, revealing a talent for dimly-lit folk wondrousness. - Indieville
With three tracks recorded spring 2009 in Philadelphia, interwoven with two more recorded the prior spring in London, it’s hard to tell exactly where we are on ‘You Are Here’ particularly as place feels less the music’s concern than time. With a voice like a reigned-in Mira Billotte of White Magic, Ryce brings a kindred melancholy and inquiry to simple, strong verses, mystifying the mundane and self-evident now with lyrical imagination indebted to pagan virtue as much as those interpreters who came before (Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Karen Dalton, etc). Her shaggy delivery expresses a modest range as much as it amplifies the lone guitar which picks faithfully alongside like the score’s staff, grounded on its belly as her vowels grow loftier and loftier. Though the song at times threatens to lose itself in the sustained high (rephrasing the bold title on the cover as a mantra directed inward) the clean production brings both characters to the fore with fine separation and complimentary colors. Stamped disc comes in standard RR hand-assembled sleeve with pasted photo. Recommended! - Animal Psi
Brigid’s music is strongly folk influenced and owes an audible debt to the great Tim Buckley. However she has a discernible style of her own, where, over languid guitar strums, her large, strong voice muses, rises, and drifts, often becoming an instrument itself. - Galway Advertiser
available from http://www.rustedrail.com/bpr2
an interview with Brigid can be found here - http://www.rustedrail.com/brigid%20advertiser%20feature.pdf
"Proving that the ladies can be equally as tormented, Brigid Power Ryce’s “You Are Here” has a melancholia coursing through it that congeals in the yowling sadness of her voice. ‘Like A Sun’ in particular makes a deep impression, with its downhearted 12-string strumming framing the vocals perfectly, recalling heartbreaks as old as time. It’s appealingly under-produced, making Power-Ryce’s long dark night of the soul even crueller." – Shindig Magazine
A truly outstanding release on one of my favourite labels. Two of these tracks were recorded at ToeRag Studios and the other three in Philadelphia by Eric Carbonara and the sound on all five is warm and full. Brigid plays 12 string guitar and sings with a languid free-flowing style, reminiscent of Tim Buckley. Highly recommended – Boa Melody Bar
Five track ep on the Irish-based label Rusted Rail from avant folk artist Brigid Power Ryce. recorded in Philadelphia with Eric Carbonara and also in London at Toe Rag studios with Liam Watson. The ep features some beautifully haunting avant-folk sounds from this Galway-based artist. Its a lovely raw kind of stripped down sound simply featuring steel-strung acoustic guitar picking and vocals. Almost like a more rustic Cat Power with the weirdness of Joanna Newsom. Comes in a lovely hand stamped three inch card sleeve, all lovingly hand made by the Rusted Rail label. – Road Records
Brigid Power Ryce's voice wistfully swoops through this eerie folk tidbit, accompanied only by minimal, bluesy guitar strokes...these songs otherwise bear an appealing, sepulchral campfire sound. Resigned dirge "Wild Grin" and lachrymose "Lost Night Girls" both exhibit this poignantly mysterious charm, revealing a talent for dimly-lit folk wondrousness. - Indieville
With three tracks recorded spring 2009 in Philadelphia, interwoven with two more recorded the prior spring in London, it’s hard to tell exactly where we are on ‘You Are Here’ particularly as place feels less the music’s concern than time. With a voice like a reigned-in Mira Billotte of White Magic, Ryce brings a kindred melancholy and inquiry to simple, strong verses, mystifying the mundane and self-evident now with lyrical imagination indebted to pagan virtue as much as those interpreters who came before (Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Karen Dalton, etc). Her shaggy delivery expresses a modest range as much as it amplifies the lone guitar which picks faithfully alongside like the score’s staff, grounded on its belly as her vowels grow loftier and loftier. Though the song at times threatens to lose itself in the sustained high (rephrasing the bold title on the cover as a mantra directed inward) the clean production brings both characters to the fore with fine separation and complimentary colors. Stamped disc comes in standard RR hand-assembled sleeve with pasted photo. Recommended! - Animal Psi
Brigid’s music is strongly folk influenced and owes an audible debt to the great Tim Buckley. However she has a discernible style of her own, where, over languid guitar strums, her large, strong voice muses, rises, and drifts, often becoming an instrument itself. - Galway Advertiser
available from http://www.rustedrail.com/bpr2
an interview with Brigid can be found here - http://www.rustedrail.com/brigid%20advertiser%20feature.pdf
Monday, January 4, 2010
Rusted Rail 2009 Round Up!!
I can’t believe that 2009 has flown by so quickly! So here’s a round up of the releases from Rusted Rail and a look ahead to what 2010 holds for the label....
Music for Dead Birds “And then it rained for seven days”
It's amazing the amount of genius song writing and structure that is unveiled on the Music For Dead Birds album considering its tiny size - a mere 3 inches (and no rude comments please.) Acoustic patterns knit warm, cozy comfort blankets of sound. An auditory trip through a rural acoustic electronic hinterlands. The natural elements intertwine with uplifting processed electronic beats that overall blissfully exudes and creates an air of alt country charm. MDFB have embraced their surroundings and fed them musically into machinery that has harvested some of the most fertile musings I have heard this year. At times quirky and at others deadly serious, MFDB musically take flight where few others dare or are even capable of venturing and whilst you can hear tiny snippets of influence, MFDB are the true sounds, sights and delicate smells of the countryside in summer. - Crumbs In The Butter
'What did you expect' recalls some of Sebadoh's earlier experiments in distorted confessional pop, 'The Sex' is a tender folkish chestbeater with a hearty vocal chant, some really emotive guitar picking and a stunted primitive drum line. It gets folkier on the the sing-song 'To Grow Up Wet', the clickety dub laced snare cracks on the eerie & quite wonderful 'Pill, Oh' are a fine backdrop to the hazy boy/girl vocals and a shambling, meandering acoustic guitar. Fans of early Hood will REALLY like this one, it's boss. - Norman Records
What Music for Dead Birds are trying to do is channel as many different styles of music as possible into one album. 'Pill, Oh' sounds like a lullaby and with all this talk of falling asleep into the deep and being asked to come with him, it is perfect to drowse to. 'The Sex' - is an attractive, melodic number while 'To Grow Up Wet' accounts for the 'acoustic' tag. As for experimental, that's catered to by the last track which features the sinister opening monologue advising us to head to the country or the sea so as to avoid certain death. - Comfort Comes
The album opens up with some perfectly ramshackle lo fi indie rock ala Pavement or Sebadoh before settling into a much more laid back indie-folk mood. Sounding at times like some bedroom folky take on Grandaddy meets early Elliott Smith, the album will tick all the right boxes for all you lovers of lo-fi indie sounds. Its got that lovely laidback loose kind of sound that will most definitely appeal to early Yo La Tengo fans with just a hint at the weirder side of psych-folk. - Road Records
The Dovetail Consort “East & West”
Bristol based solo artist Tim Newman releases this very beautiful collection of guitar instrumentals...calling to mind the likes of James Blackshaw with some added strings. Fans of the slightly eastern tinged avant folk sounds of the likes of John Fahey will instantly fall in love with this one. Features some beautifully meditative folk guitar picking with a lovely spacial kind of ambient feel about it. - Road Records
“East & West” is a simple yet delicately harmonious record that shifts slowly through many acoustic fields of vision. Songs that are plucked delicately, shift in waves of gentle repetition and slip you into hazy fields of humid summer country air. An apt title, as this release mixes many ingredients from the musical world of the Eastern and the Western hemispheres of this world and the results are palpably hypnotic. "1919" has that uplifting melancholy that just makes you want to stare from your window and pretend the world does not exist. Once the song ends, it's clear that the real world could never be as beautiful as the one created in this song. Acoustic guitars spin joyous patterns and the listener becomes giddily trapped in this world of ambient folk inspired haziness. - Crumbs in the Butter
Essentially these tracks are based on simple, but heavily edited, folky guitar pieces which take on an almost mantra-like quality through the repetition of notes and phrases. It's quite beautiful really. - Norman Records
There's something rewarding about a record which is open about reference points and inspirations without sounding like any of those catalysts. Bristol-based Tim Newman's titles refer, variously to David Crosby's boat (Mainsail), Indian classical music (Devotional) and Ian Carr's Nucleus (Elastic Folk) and all of these points of his musical compass make me warm to the record before the laser hits the pits. The music created by Mr. Newman is a charming world of guitar melodies with mandolin, 'cello, thumb piano and percussion, all wrapped up in Rusted Rails hard-to-resist 3" format, delightful on both ear and eye. - Boa Melody Bar
The adorable 3-inch disc, which is placed in a hand-made sleeve, features a scenic photo of a dusty road at sunset, prepping you for the 20 minutes of serene lullabies that lie within. The group's sound features mainly acoustic guitar and strings, but there are many more instruments thrown in to give the album an eclectic blend of Eastern and Western sound, hence, the album title. The opening track, "Devotional", is a positive, earthy tune. It could easily be used on a movie soundtrack, playing while the credits roll after a bittersweet ending. It reminds me of what I imagine the Tuscan countryside would sound like, if hills could make music. - BalconyTV
This 3” manages to squeeze six little compositions into its twenty minutes, favoring a vast and dusty folk sound emphasizing vast, wheat-filled vistas and back porch moments of tenderness. Performed and written solely by Tim Newman, who, it seems, is quite capable on a number of instruments ranging from guitar to fiddle, the album is unapologetically countrified and folky, as well as utterly sincere - this is an honest and credible approach at folk that pulls far more from Doc Watson than it does from John Fahey. There remains something cinematic and rich about this stuff that, though sounding instantly familiar, is not really in the vein of a distinct approach. A fine effort, this is a voice that anyone into folk of any sort should give an honest chance - extremely earnest stuff, and beautiful for it. - Foxy Digitalis
CWK Joynes "LHR Twins"
The opener sounds like a Mandolin is being mauled (lovingly) by talented fingers whilst zither, piano, cello and musicbox are employed in varying degrees of audibility. It gets quicker to the point where you could possibly do a spindly Irish Jig to it. Amazing stuff! 'Lay You Down O My Brother' is of the Rose/Parr/Blackshaw/Cam Deas school, an hypnotic steel guitar mantra that never fails to thrill. A plaintive acoustic finishes the set, reminding me of old Django R, an evergreen influence for sure. This Cambridge boy sure knows his way around the strings, long may his precious pinkies play on! - Norman Records
There are 3 instrumentals on here and the disc opens with a fascinating take on what sounds like an Appalachian folk tune played on zither, prepared piano, cello and music box. It's utterly charming. Next up is a long reworking of the spiritual "Lay You Down O My Brother" (used in part on the Incredible String Band's "A Very Circular Song") which also draws in elements of Hildegard Von Bingen's "Columba Aspexit" - the mid-section of this develops into the kind of celestial elegance James Blackshaw's 12 string playing manages. Finally Joynes rounds the disc up with a melancholic meditation, on nylon strings.- Boa Melody Bar
The album features three lengthy avant folk instrumentals from Joynes, who has previously released material on the Bo'weavil label. The tracks feature all manner of plucked instruments including zither, prepared piano, cello and guitar. Beautiful folk tinged with little hints of traditional middle eastern folk and the avant garde sounds of early John Fahey. - Road Records
Yawning Chasm “The Shadow is That Hidden”
This is beautifully crafted, hypnotic folk of the like you don't hear much nowadays. Simple guitar motifs are punctuated by thoughtful and reflective vocals and executed in short sharp doses. Some of the additional guitar effects and sounds help push these formal sounding tracks into the space zone. Blissful musings and beautiful melodies. - Norman Records
Slow shed-recorded songs accompanied by gorgeous (mandolin/guitar) finger-picking, casio and a haunting use of delay/reverb and shortwave radio that gives the songs the feeling of being beamed in from afar. Dreamy melancholia. - Boa Melody Bar
Yawning Chasm explores a modern, ruminative, psychedelic folk-rock..."The Shadow Is That Hidden" has a rich, deep, and full sound, more impressive than its humble origins suggest. - Galway Advertiser
A lovely rustic selection of weird folk sounds with hints of early psychfolk and intimate lo-fi bedroom indie folk. - Road Records
Aaron M Coyne has crafted a hauntingly exquisite work of personal, idiosyncratic psych-folk. Employing little more than his strummed electric guitar and his sublimely understated, Kozelek-meets-early-Callahan voice, Coyne designs passionate and memorable songs that come off as original despite their minimalist composition...one of the strongest psychedelic folk releases in recent memory. - Indieville
Agitated Radio Pilot“A Field Day”
This new release from Dave Colohan's Agitated Radio Pilot contains 6 new songs that are amongst his finest. Dave's music is a perfect accompaniment to autumn - minor key and melancholic - although some of the songs on here sound more upbeat than normal with a full band arrangement including double bass, mandolin, guitar, banjo, melodica, piano and some unexpected wah-wah guitar. Wrap up warm, have a single malt and enjoy - this is a treat and a half. - Boa Melody Bar
An impressive example of modern psychedelic-folk....beguiles with its poetic and deeply personal lyrics, and its autumnal, pastoral atmosphere. - Galway Advertiser
Summery feelings, a bit of the usual melancholia, and nice instrumentation... - Evening of Light
A lovely rustic collection of laid back alt-folk sounds with a somewhat dark sombre feel about it. Features lots of gently plucked acoustic instruments, scratchy droning sounds and some truly haunting strings. - Road Records
A 6 track EP of earnest singer songwriter gear that straddles a folkish vibe... it all sounds really quite delicate leaving plenty of space for the songman to do his thing. It's no happy ride mind but a goodie to weep into the whisky glass to. - Norman Records
More unique pseudo-folk brilliance from the Rusted Rail label. The lead singer's crisp voice is unmistakeable, a distinct mish-mash of Johnny Cash, Stephin Merritt, and Leonard Cohen... A Field Day is a very strong EP from Colohan and company. Unique delivery, melodic composition, and a knack for atmosphere make these six tracks remarkably unforgettable. – Indieville
and coming in 2010.....
Brigid Power Ryce will release a stellar yet earthy ep called “You Are Here” in Februrary
Paul O'Reilly is about to begin recording an ep for Rusted Rail.
Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon just submitted the master copy of their absolutely stunning debut full length cd “The Trees, The Sea in a Lunar Stream” and that’ll be getting pressed in the new year.....a very special album indeed!
Cubs will release their long-awaited debut full length CD...
while
The Driftwood Manor are also recording an ep too for RR.
These and more delights will emerge in the next year on Rusted Rail!
Thanks for all yr support his year!!
RR
Music for Dead Birds “And then it rained for seven days”
It's amazing the amount of genius song writing and structure that is unveiled on the Music For Dead Birds album considering its tiny size - a mere 3 inches (and no rude comments please.) Acoustic patterns knit warm, cozy comfort blankets of sound. An auditory trip through a rural acoustic electronic hinterlands. The natural elements intertwine with uplifting processed electronic beats that overall blissfully exudes and creates an air of alt country charm. MDFB have embraced their surroundings and fed them musically into machinery that has harvested some of the most fertile musings I have heard this year. At times quirky and at others deadly serious, MFDB musically take flight where few others dare or are even capable of venturing and whilst you can hear tiny snippets of influence, MFDB are the true sounds, sights and delicate smells of the countryside in summer. - Crumbs In The Butter
'What did you expect' recalls some of Sebadoh's earlier experiments in distorted confessional pop, 'The Sex' is a tender folkish chestbeater with a hearty vocal chant, some really emotive guitar picking and a stunted primitive drum line. It gets folkier on the the sing-song 'To Grow Up Wet', the clickety dub laced snare cracks on the eerie & quite wonderful 'Pill, Oh' are a fine backdrop to the hazy boy/girl vocals and a shambling, meandering acoustic guitar. Fans of early Hood will REALLY like this one, it's boss. - Norman Records
What Music for Dead Birds are trying to do is channel as many different styles of music as possible into one album. 'Pill, Oh' sounds like a lullaby and with all this talk of falling asleep into the deep and being asked to come with him, it is perfect to drowse to. 'The Sex' - is an attractive, melodic number while 'To Grow Up Wet' accounts for the 'acoustic' tag. As for experimental, that's catered to by the last track which features the sinister opening monologue advising us to head to the country or the sea so as to avoid certain death. - Comfort Comes
The album opens up with some perfectly ramshackle lo fi indie rock ala Pavement or Sebadoh before settling into a much more laid back indie-folk mood. Sounding at times like some bedroom folky take on Grandaddy meets early Elliott Smith, the album will tick all the right boxes for all you lovers of lo-fi indie sounds. Its got that lovely laidback loose kind of sound that will most definitely appeal to early Yo La Tengo fans with just a hint at the weirder side of psych-folk. - Road Records
The Dovetail Consort “East & West”
Bristol based solo artist Tim Newman releases this very beautiful collection of guitar instrumentals...calling to mind the likes of James Blackshaw with some added strings. Fans of the slightly eastern tinged avant folk sounds of the likes of John Fahey will instantly fall in love with this one. Features some beautifully meditative folk guitar picking with a lovely spacial kind of ambient feel about it. - Road Records
“East & West” is a simple yet delicately harmonious record that shifts slowly through many acoustic fields of vision. Songs that are plucked delicately, shift in waves of gentle repetition and slip you into hazy fields of humid summer country air. An apt title, as this release mixes many ingredients from the musical world of the Eastern and the Western hemispheres of this world and the results are palpably hypnotic. "1919" has that uplifting melancholy that just makes you want to stare from your window and pretend the world does not exist. Once the song ends, it's clear that the real world could never be as beautiful as the one created in this song. Acoustic guitars spin joyous patterns and the listener becomes giddily trapped in this world of ambient folk inspired haziness. - Crumbs in the Butter
Essentially these tracks are based on simple, but heavily edited, folky guitar pieces which take on an almost mantra-like quality through the repetition of notes and phrases. It's quite beautiful really. - Norman Records
There's something rewarding about a record which is open about reference points and inspirations without sounding like any of those catalysts. Bristol-based Tim Newman's titles refer, variously to David Crosby's boat (Mainsail), Indian classical music (Devotional) and Ian Carr's Nucleus (Elastic Folk) and all of these points of his musical compass make me warm to the record before the laser hits the pits. The music created by Mr. Newman is a charming world of guitar melodies with mandolin, 'cello, thumb piano and percussion, all wrapped up in Rusted Rails hard-to-resist 3" format, delightful on both ear and eye. - Boa Melody Bar
The adorable 3-inch disc, which is placed in a hand-made sleeve, features a scenic photo of a dusty road at sunset, prepping you for the 20 minutes of serene lullabies that lie within. The group's sound features mainly acoustic guitar and strings, but there are many more instruments thrown in to give the album an eclectic blend of Eastern and Western sound, hence, the album title. The opening track, "Devotional", is a positive, earthy tune. It could easily be used on a movie soundtrack, playing while the credits roll after a bittersweet ending. It reminds me of what I imagine the Tuscan countryside would sound like, if hills could make music. - BalconyTV
This 3” manages to squeeze six little compositions into its twenty minutes, favoring a vast and dusty folk sound emphasizing vast, wheat-filled vistas and back porch moments of tenderness. Performed and written solely by Tim Newman, who, it seems, is quite capable on a number of instruments ranging from guitar to fiddle, the album is unapologetically countrified and folky, as well as utterly sincere - this is an honest and credible approach at folk that pulls far more from Doc Watson than it does from John Fahey. There remains something cinematic and rich about this stuff that, though sounding instantly familiar, is not really in the vein of a distinct approach. A fine effort, this is a voice that anyone into folk of any sort should give an honest chance - extremely earnest stuff, and beautiful for it. - Foxy Digitalis
CWK Joynes "LHR Twins"
The opener sounds like a Mandolin is being mauled (lovingly) by talented fingers whilst zither, piano, cello and musicbox are employed in varying degrees of audibility. It gets quicker to the point where you could possibly do a spindly Irish Jig to it. Amazing stuff! 'Lay You Down O My Brother' is of the Rose/Parr/Blackshaw/Cam Deas school, an hypnotic steel guitar mantra that never fails to thrill. A plaintive acoustic finishes the set, reminding me of old Django R, an evergreen influence for sure. This Cambridge boy sure knows his way around the strings, long may his precious pinkies play on! - Norman Records
There are 3 instrumentals on here and the disc opens with a fascinating take on what sounds like an Appalachian folk tune played on zither, prepared piano, cello and music box. It's utterly charming. Next up is a long reworking of the spiritual "Lay You Down O My Brother" (used in part on the Incredible String Band's "A Very Circular Song") which also draws in elements of Hildegard Von Bingen's "Columba Aspexit" - the mid-section of this develops into the kind of celestial elegance James Blackshaw's 12 string playing manages. Finally Joynes rounds the disc up with a melancholic meditation, on nylon strings.- Boa Melody Bar
The album features three lengthy avant folk instrumentals from Joynes, who has previously released material on the Bo'weavil label. The tracks feature all manner of plucked instruments including zither, prepared piano, cello and guitar. Beautiful folk tinged with little hints of traditional middle eastern folk and the avant garde sounds of early John Fahey. - Road Records
Yawning Chasm “The Shadow is That Hidden”
This is beautifully crafted, hypnotic folk of the like you don't hear much nowadays. Simple guitar motifs are punctuated by thoughtful and reflective vocals and executed in short sharp doses. Some of the additional guitar effects and sounds help push these formal sounding tracks into the space zone. Blissful musings and beautiful melodies. - Norman Records
Slow shed-recorded songs accompanied by gorgeous (mandolin/guitar) finger-picking, casio and a haunting use of delay/reverb and shortwave radio that gives the songs the feeling of being beamed in from afar. Dreamy melancholia. - Boa Melody Bar
Yawning Chasm explores a modern, ruminative, psychedelic folk-rock..."The Shadow Is That Hidden" has a rich, deep, and full sound, more impressive than its humble origins suggest. - Galway Advertiser
A lovely rustic selection of weird folk sounds with hints of early psychfolk and intimate lo-fi bedroom indie folk. - Road Records
Aaron M Coyne has crafted a hauntingly exquisite work of personal, idiosyncratic psych-folk. Employing little more than his strummed electric guitar and his sublimely understated, Kozelek-meets-early-Callahan voice, Coyne designs passionate and memorable songs that come off as original despite their minimalist composition...one of the strongest psychedelic folk releases in recent memory. - Indieville
Agitated Radio Pilot“A Field Day”
This new release from Dave Colohan's Agitated Radio Pilot contains 6 new songs that are amongst his finest. Dave's music is a perfect accompaniment to autumn - minor key and melancholic - although some of the songs on here sound more upbeat than normal with a full band arrangement including double bass, mandolin, guitar, banjo, melodica, piano and some unexpected wah-wah guitar. Wrap up warm, have a single malt and enjoy - this is a treat and a half. - Boa Melody Bar
An impressive example of modern psychedelic-folk....beguiles with its poetic and deeply personal lyrics, and its autumnal, pastoral atmosphere. - Galway Advertiser
Summery feelings, a bit of the usual melancholia, and nice instrumentation... - Evening of Light
A lovely rustic collection of laid back alt-folk sounds with a somewhat dark sombre feel about it. Features lots of gently plucked acoustic instruments, scratchy droning sounds and some truly haunting strings. - Road Records
A 6 track EP of earnest singer songwriter gear that straddles a folkish vibe... it all sounds really quite delicate leaving plenty of space for the songman to do his thing. It's no happy ride mind but a goodie to weep into the whisky glass to. - Norman Records
More unique pseudo-folk brilliance from the Rusted Rail label. The lead singer's crisp voice is unmistakeable, a distinct mish-mash of Johnny Cash, Stephin Merritt, and Leonard Cohen... A Field Day is a very strong EP from Colohan and company. Unique delivery, melodic composition, and a knack for atmosphere make these six tracks remarkably unforgettable. – Indieville
and coming in 2010.....
Brigid Power Ryce will release a stellar yet earthy ep called “You Are Here” in Februrary
Paul O'Reilly is about to begin recording an ep for Rusted Rail.
Phantom Dog Beneath The Moon just submitted the master copy of their absolutely stunning debut full length cd “The Trees, The Sea in a Lunar Stream” and that’ll be getting pressed in the new year.....a very special album indeed!
Cubs will release their long-awaited debut full length CD...
while
The Driftwood Manor are also recording an ep too for RR.
These and more delights will emerge in the next year on Rusted Rail!
Thanks for all yr support his year!!
RR
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Rusted Rail Xmas Party!!
Rusted Rail Xmas Party!
December 22nd at Roisin Dubh (Downstairs) Galway
Doors 8.30 pm SHARP! featuring...
Music for Dead Birds
www.myspace.com/musicfordeadbirds
December 22nd at Roisin Dubh (Downstairs) Galway
Doors 8.30 pm SHARP! featuring...
Music for Dead Birds
www.myspace.com/musicfordeadbirds
Paul O'Reilly
Brigid Power Ryce
Yawning Chasm
www.myspace.com/yawningchasm
www.myspace.com/yawningchasm
5 acts for 5 yoyo! Come along for a cool yule...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
reviews of Agitated Radio Pilot & Yawning Chasm...
Agitated Radio Pilot - "A Field Day"
This new release from Dave Colohan's Agitated Radio Pilot contains 6 new songs that are amongst his finest. Dave's music is a perfect accompaniment to autumn - minor key and melancholic - although some of the songs on here sound more upbeat than normal with a full band arrangement including double bass, mandolin, guitar, banjo, melodica, piano and some unexpected wah-wah guitar. Wrap up warm, have a single malt and enjoy - this is a treat and a half. - Boa Melody Bar
Agitated Radio Pilot is singer-songwriter Dave Colohan and the six track "A Field Day" ep is his second Rusted Rail release. It is an impressive example of modern psychedelic-folk. It may take a couple of listens to get used to but soon beguiles with its poetic and deeply personal lyrics, and its autumnal, pastoral atmosphere. Stand out tracks include 'Far North' which rises into a wah-wah guitar driven crescendo and 'The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things', which sounds as if Dave is being backed by a sitar. - Galway Advertiser
Irish label Rusted Rail have released a new Agitated Radio Pilot EP, entitled A Field Day. It contains six tracks in a style that reminds me a bit of Dave’s earlier Australia-inspired works, with a bit of Holt thrown in as well. Summery feelings, a bit of the usual melancholia, and a nice instrumentation featuring, among others, Bean Dolan and Eddie Keenan of Resurrection Fern and The Driftwood Manor, respectively. - Evening of Light
Limited edition 3 inch cd release in miniature handmade sleeve, released on the Irish label Rusted Rail, they put such care and attention into their miniature packaging. The band features mainstay David Colohan along with Bean Dolan, Eddie Keenan, Gary Morrison and Loner Deluxe. A lovely rustic collection of laid back alt-folk sounds with a somewhat dark sombre feel about it. Features lots of gently plucked acoustic instruments, scratchy droning sounds and some truly haunting strings. – Road Records
Agitated Radio Pilot (David Colohan and cohorts) has a limited 3" CD called A Field Day out on Ireland's Rusted Rail label and it's a 6 track EP of earnest singer songwriter gear that straddles a folkish vibe. Our Business Lady is laughing at the lyrics, I heard a mention of watching Withnail and I which is always good. The musicians play piano, melodica, accordian , banjo etc. and it all sounds really quite delicate leaving plenty of space for the songman to do his thing. If were into the Slow Loris disc then give this a whirl. It's no happy ride mind but a goodie to weep into the whisky glass to. - Norman Records
Two years after the monumental double albums "World Winding Down" and "The Rural Arcane" (I have reviews of both published), Rusted Rail records brought us a new release from Ireland's finest folk act, Agitated Radio Pilot. How I've waited! "A Field Day" comes presented as a 3" CDR in a just as small, simple package and it contains 6 tracks, which should label it EP or mini-CD or something. I say EP and you know what I mean.Something I've stated before, but will state again, is that I've not been a very long-time listener of Agitated Radio Pilot. I started right after "World Winding Down". But I have experienced that the project has two sides, easily explained. We have the more straight forward folk side and the more experimental ambient side. And the "A Field Day" material leans more towards the folky side, which fits me and the approaching winter just perfectly. Of course, a review of a 6 track release can't contain as many letters as a review of a 24 track release, but with that said, I do not wish you to believe that a 6 track release can't contain just as much feelings as a 24 track release! "A Field Day" is simply stunning despite the length. which is something that is proven already in the first track, a sweet picking mandolin song that has high replay and sing-along value. As usual, David sings great and delivers especially in the chorus and it's by all means a fine track but "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things" that awaits after it, is certainly my new Agitated Radio Pilot favourite. Oh God. Why are you doing this to me? The combination of simple piano plings and sitar (that actually ain't a sitar at all) is lovely, and the honest, sad vocals are devastating for a romantic heart like mine. The lyrics don't make it any easier for me, and it is something peculiar about David's lyric writing that makes even the most common envisagements sound, and feel, very odd and sad. I played this song on repeat a couple of weeks ago, while waiting for my bus, and I somehow melted into it and just stood there. Fixed my eyes on a dove that went to and fro on the side-walk, and all I could think was "I love that dove, I wish him a happy life". After an unknown amount of minutes the dove flew away and I came to senses again, just to realize that the bus already went by and all people around me went along with it. And I normally hate doves.Yes, "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things" is for sure the most touching dark folk song of the year, and the following tracks here don't really manage to climb the same heights, but I still recommend you to finish your listening session, because you don't want to miss out on killers like "From the Ghost Gum Glades" and the gorgeous instrumental piece called "The Drunken Poet".So, time to summarize. "A Field Day" might not change the course of the world, but it's a confident EP from a project that remains unthreatened on the throne it sits on. It has only 6 tracks, but variation, instruments and moods enough to keep you cradled until the next release comes. When that ever might be. I pray that we don't have to wait another two years to hear from Dave Colohan, aka. Agitated Radio Pilot again. - The Shadows Commence
More unique pseudo-folk brilliance from the Rusted Rail label, this time in the form of Ireland's Agitated Radio Pilot. The group, which encompasses a somewhat rotating group of contributors with David Colohan at its centre, creates music which is unusual yet seamlessly enticing. The lead singer's crisp voice is unmistakeable, a distinct mish-mash of Johnny Cash, Stephin Merritt, and Leonard Cohen, his singing never far off from mere speaking. Instrumentally, A Field Day is based largely around various stringed instruments - including acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, and sitar - but several other instruments help imbue personality to the proceedings. For example, the insanely beautiful title-track would not be quite as sweet if it weren't for the double bass or the subtle addition of accordion and electronics. Meanwhile, marvellously wistful "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things," based around a repeated sitar line, is fitted with a superbly longing piano part; meanwhile, expansive "Far North" features longing solos on melodica and electric guitar. Together, A Field Day is a very strong EP from Colohan and company. Unique delivery, melodic composition, and a knack for atmosphere make these six tracks remarkably unforgettable. - Indieville
"A Field Day", the latest from Agitated Radio Pilot, hits the expected high-climbing mark which David Colohan (also of United Bible Studies) seems unable to avoid. Through a wholesale embrace of the baroque Pop masters the album glories in the simple pleasures of solid songwriting and deft musicianship, void any trace of catholic guilt or precocious insecurity. Though the title track more than ever recalls Magnetic Fields for the somber gait of banjo and baritonic of Colohan’s voice, subsequent “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things” takes a turn toward the dusky Tragically Hip, with its ringing bouzouki and kitchen percolation, and even a bit of Current 93 in the droning, teetering, Orientalist poetry of “From the Ghost Gum Glades”. For these sessions joined by four pals on a variety of instruments featured more or less soloistically to give maximum sonic wardrobe to these six tracks, each sustaining the same taut song construction and mature even-keel. “Far North” follows this spate of fatless singles with an extended rave-up of deep reverb and grated strings in chamber perfection. “The Drunken Poet” is a briefer outro and (surely, willfully ironic) the only wordless track, a session of picking like analogue switches to codify the entire strand of the discs impossible DNA. Comes in RR’s standard, handmade insert with photo paste-on and heavy sleeve. - Animal Psi
Yawning Chasm "The Shadow is That Hidden"
We've got a couple of 3" cd's from the excellent Rusted Rail label this week. I've been assigned 'The shadow is that hidden' EP from Yawning Chasm, a one man bedroom producer and songwriter (and one half of Mirakil Whip) Aaron M. Coyne. This is beautifully crafted, hypnotic folk of the like you don't hear much nowadays. Simple guitar motifs are punctuated by thoughtful and reflective vocals and executed in short sharp doses. Some of the additional guitar effects and sounds help push these formal sounding tracks into the space zone. This is particularly apparent on opener 'To the void' and 'Tumble River' that have a slight Syd Barrett feel to them. Sort of reminds me of my fave solo artist of the moment, Ducktails sans all the mashed up sound experiments and such. Blissful musings and beautiful melodies, what more could you ask for eh? Not much.... - Norman Records
Yawning Chasm is Aaron Coyne, one half of Irish duo Mirakil Whip. Slow shed-recorded songs accompanied by gorgeous (mandolin/guitar) finger-picking, casio and a haunting use of delay/reverb and shortwave radio that gives the songs the feeling of being beamed in from afar. Dreamy melancholia and a wonderful companion release to the Agitated Radio Pilot 3".
- Boa Melody Bar
Yawning Chasm is the stage name of Galway underground singer-songwriter Aaron Coyne. He is well known to many music heads in the city as one half of electro/guitar band Mirakil Whip, but through Yawning Chasm he explores a modern, ruminative, psychedelic folk-rock. The stand-out track on the EP is 'Tumble River' where Aaron's voice echoes through a sinister, swirling, spindly sound produced by a Yamaha Portosound keyboard fed through several effects pedals. Although I hate pigeon holing things, the song is excellent Goth-psych-folk. The EP's six songs were written, performed, and recorded by Aaron onto 4-track cassette in the cosy confines of a shed in Galway, throughout April, May, and June. It may sound primitive (4-track was the height of technology in 1967!) but "The Shadow Is That Hidden" has a rich, deep, and full sound, more impressive than its humble origins suggest. - Galway Advertiser
Another beautifully presented release from this Irish-based label. The cd features six tracks from Yawning Chasm, which is basically a solo outing from Mirakil Whip member Aaron M Coyne. The album was recorded in early 2009 to four-track cassette in Galway and features a lovely rustic selection of weird folk sounds with hints of early psychfolk and intimate lo-fi bedroom indie folk. - Road Records
It's no secret I've got a major woody for the Rusted Rail label, and with that said, I think Yawning Chasm's distressingly brief EP might be their best release thus far. In just these six brief songs, Aaron M Coyne has crafted a hauntingly exquisite work of personal, idiosyncratic psych-folk. Employing little more than his strummed electric guitar and his sublimely understated, Kozelek-meets-early-Callahan voice, Coyne designs passionate and memorable songs that come off as original despite their minimalist composition. The brief EP reaches its summit with the resplendently longing "Monsters," which weds a radiant yet low-key guitar line to a sweet vocal melody. It's a mesmerizingly pretty work that recalls work by the Red House Painters and C.W. Vrtacek. Yet this four minute bit of perfection is surrounded by an impressive supporting cast, including hypnotic "Your Bones Will Bleach White" and lachrymose "Stars are Going Out." The Shadow That Is Hidden may be frustratingly short, but it's also consistently great, and that helps make it one of the strongest psychedelic folk releases in recent memory. - Indieville
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Forthcoming releases on Rusted Rail - Agitated Radio Pilot & Yawning Chasm
October 6th will see the releease of two new ep's on Rusted Rail...
Agitated Radio Pilot
“A Field Day” EP
Rusted Rail is pleased to announce the release of “A Field Day” EP, a 6 track EP by Agitated Radio Pilot. The musical project of David Colohan, this conceptual Australian travelogue documents an expanded and folkier line-up of Agitated Radio Pilot featuring Bean Dolan (Resurrection Fern), Eddie Keenan (The Driftwood Manor) and Gary Morrison (The Hollows) assailing such instruments as accordion, melodica, musical saw, bouzouki, banjo, double bass, piano and all manner of guitars. “A Field Day” was recorded throughout 2008/2009 in various locations around Ireland, in empty theatres, sunny living rooms, on a horse farm and whilst snowed in at the foot of mountains. This 3inch hand-stamped EP of ambling acoustica and fireplace folk is housed in a handmade sleeve.
Agitated Radio Pilot
“A Field Day” EP
1. A Field Day
2. The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
3. Sorrow Finds You
4. From the Ghost Gum Glades
5. Far North
6. The Drunken Poet
Yawning Chasm
“The Shadow is That Hidden” EP
Rusted Rail is proud to announce the release of “The Shadow is That Hidden” a six song EP by west of Ireland-based home recording artist Yawning Chasm. All songs were written, performed and recorded by Aaron M. Coyne (who is also one half of Rusted Rail act Mirakil Whip) onto cassette 4-track in the cosy confines of a shed in Galway, throughout April, May and June of 2009 . Fingerpicked slo-motion folk stylings and hauntological sonics are coaxed from tenor guitar, mandolin, mandobird, keyboard, guitar pedals, vocals and transistor radio dial: maybe you could call it sci-fi lo-fi. This 3inch hand-stamped EP/mini-album is housed in a handmade sleeve.
Yawning Chasm
“The Shadow is That Hidden” EP
1. To The Void
2. Stars are Going Out
3. Tumble River
4. Monsters
5. Your Bones Will Bleach White
6. Distant Fires
Both releases will be available via mail-order from http://www.rustedrail.com/ on October 6th
and from Road Records, Boa Melody Bar and Norman Records.
To read a feature about the ep's click here - http://www.rustedrail.com/arp%20chasm%20advertiser%20pdf.pdf
Agitated Radio Pilot
“A Field Day” EP
Rusted Rail is pleased to announce the release of “A Field Day” EP, a 6 track EP by Agitated Radio Pilot. The musical project of David Colohan, this conceptual Australian travelogue documents an expanded and folkier line-up of Agitated Radio Pilot featuring Bean Dolan (Resurrection Fern), Eddie Keenan (The Driftwood Manor) and Gary Morrison (The Hollows) assailing such instruments as accordion, melodica, musical saw, bouzouki, banjo, double bass, piano and all manner of guitars. “A Field Day” was recorded throughout 2008/2009 in various locations around Ireland, in empty theatres, sunny living rooms, on a horse farm and whilst snowed in at the foot of mountains. This 3inch hand-stamped EP of ambling acoustica and fireplace folk is housed in a handmade sleeve.
Agitated Radio Pilot
“A Field Day” EP
1. A Field Day
2. The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things
3. Sorrow Finds You
4. From the Ghost Gum Glades
5. Far North
6. The Drunken Poet
Yawning Chasm
“The Shadow is That Hidden” EP
Rusted Rail is proud to announce the release of “The Shadow is That Hidden” a six song EP by west of Ireland-based home recording artist Yawning Chasm. All songs were written, performed and recorded by Aaron M. Coyne (who is also one half of Rusted Rail act Mirakil Whip) onto cassette 4-track in the cosy confines of a shed in Galway, throughout April, May and June of 2009 . Fingerpicked slo-motion folk stylings and hauntological sonics are coaxed from tenor guitar, mandolin, mandobird, keyboard, guitar pedals, vocals and transistor radio dial: maybe you could call it sci-fi lo-fi. This 3inch hand-stamped EP/mini-album is housed in a handmade sleeve.
Yawning Chasm
“The Shadow is That Hidden” EP
1. To The Void
2. Stars are Going Out
3. Tumble River
4. Monsters
5. Your Bones Will Bleach White
6. Distant Fires
Both releases will be available via mail-order from http://www.rustedrail.com/ on October 6th
and from Road Records, Boa Melody Bar and Norman Records.
To read a feature about the ep's click here - http://www.rustedrail.com/arp%20chasm%20advertiser%20pdf.pdf
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Rusted Rail Discography
Rusted Rail Discography
RR1 Agitated Radio Pilot "Your Turn To Go It Alone" Double 3" ep: March 2006
RR2 Plinth "Victorian Machine Music" 3" ep: March 2006 (Out of Print)
RR3 So Cow "Best Vacation Ever" 3" ep: March 2006 
RR4 Loner Deluxe "The Plinth Tapes" 3" ep: June 2006 
RR5 Mirakil Whip "P.C.P" 3" ep: June 2006 
RR11 Phosphene "Phoenix Trees" 3" ep: May 2007
RR14 The Declining Winter "Goodbye Minnesota" CD Album: May 2008
RR15 Loner Deluxe "Must Not Sleep, Must Warn Others" Double 3"ep: November 2008
RR16 Music for Dead Birds "And Then It Rained For Seven Days" 3" ep: April 2009
RR1 Agitated Radio Pilot "Your Turn To Go It Alone" Double 3" ep: March 2006
RR2 Plinth "Victorian Machine Music" 3" ep: March 2006 (Out of Print)
RR3 So Cow "Best Vacation Ever" 3" ep: March 2006
RR4 Loner Deluxe "The Plinth Tapes" 3" ep: June 2006
RR5 Mirakil Whip "P.C.P" 3" ep: June 2006
RR6 United Bible Studies "The Northern Lights & The Northern Dark" 3" ep: June 2006
RR7 Autumn Grieve "Terra Infinita" 3"ep: January 2007 (Out of Print)
RR8 Cubs "Stonewater" 3"ep: January 2007
RR9 Plinth "Wintersongs"5" album: January 2007 (Out of Print)
RR10 Phantom Dog Beneath the Moon "Through A Forest Only" 3" ep: May 2007
RR11 Phosphene "Phoenix Trees" 3" ep: May 2007
RR12 Directorsound "Leaving the Moors" 3" ep: October 2007
RR13 The Big Eyes Family Players "Donkeysongs" 5" minialbum: February 2008
RR14 The Declining Winter "Goodbye Minnesota" CD Album: May 2008
RR15 Loner Deluxe "Must Not Sleep, Must Warn Others" Double 3"ep: November 2008
RR16 Music for Dead Birds "And Then It Rained For Seven Days" 3" ep: April 2009
RR17 CWK Joynes "LHR Twins" 3" ep: July 2009
RR18 The Dovetail Consort "East & West" 3" ep: July 2009
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