Halcyon Magazine

Joseph and Jenny Andreotti were kind enough to send me their EP recently. Right off the bat, I was struck by their shaggy-north west owl-forest name: The Grizzly Owls.

What I love about this duo are their equal nods to Julee Cruise’s high pitched angelic warbling in Twin Peaks and Merle Haggard’s love songs. This strange combo is a little bit haunting, a little bit twang.

Listen To: “Madman, Hysterical Woman”

Despite what the title suggests, this is a slow-honey drip haunter of a country love ballad. Plus they name drop Kris Kristofferson!

As their name implies, Los Angeles based Black Math Horseman ride like a fearsome headless spirit into the wild dark woods of a full-moonlit night. Composed of Sera Timms (bass/vocals), Ian Barry (guitar) Bryan Tulao (guitar) and Sasha Popovic (drums), this ethereally forboding quartet present a strangely bipolar sound, both heavy as the vast expanse of a black night sky and light as a spirit lifting from an ancient curse.

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Liege & Lief is, in my mind (whatever that’s good for…), the most superior example of electric folk music ever to be recorded in this current universe, and, most likely in all of the infinite alternate universes as well. Its just one of those albums that is most absurdly astonishing in most every aspect. Its amazing! Also… nevermind. Anyways, the Fairport Convention are generally known as the inventors of the folk rock genre in England. (Although the Strawbs and the Pentangle, who also are of the genre, did also exist at the time.) The album Liege & Lief was their 4th studio album, and it was released in December of 1969.

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