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Bookend releases of a set of Evening Fires material out now on the two great labels.

Digitalis Limited (Oklahoma)

ltd#13: evening fires "figures of earth" cd-r $8 <-click for ordering info

evening fires is a quartet of pennsylvanians, featuring members of clear spots and nessmuk, as well as the brains behind the deep water acres website & label. they're busy guys, but still found the time last summer and fall to crank out a set of backporch jams and slipstream electric boogaloos. they get help on banjo and mandolin on a few tracks, too, beefing up the downhome goodness.

what really makes "figures of earth" such a stunning album is the diversity that doesn't take away from the overall flow. kraut-infused songs fit seemlessly next to something reminiscent of the black twigs. they don't fight it out, they just keep it mellow and roll on down the way. using an array of instrumentation from guitars, synths, and drums to saxophone, bodhran, and tabla, you get a lot of mileage out of these 47 minutes. the perfect soundtrack to your summer roadtrip. limited to 73 handnumbered copies.

MusicYourMindWillLoveYou (Australia)

Mymwly0097 evening fires – the wood beyond the world cdr $10 (to order, paypal to mymwly [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Weirded out space rock with a slight postrock weave butts sublime tribal soundscapes bounded within the rural warmth of north American folk music , with shimmering krautrock gleamings and an overall meditative beaming...lush and glorious...

[Anvil Salute] is back again with a long-player, ‘This is the Voice of Doom Calling’. Anvil Salute, here a sextet (weren’t they always?), playing an ample smattering of ten tracks in various shapes and sizes, while holding tight to their core repertoire of hazy, lazy Americana instrumentals: . . .

click here to read the full review on Animal Psi

. . . A masterful blending of minimalist repetition and light-hearted folk forms, and peppered with a touch of freeform weirdness, Anvil Salute’s oeuvre is one that refuses to wear thin. . . . This is probably the best Anvil Salute album yet – a record in which every element of the group’s sound has flourished wonderfully. . . . 10/10

click here to read the full review on Foxy Digitalis

From the great French label:

First ever recording by the Pennsylvanian quartet outside the Deep Water Acres camp. A live session of rural noise that builds a massive freestyle edifice. An intense & experimental work made of guitarz and heavy drums.

The Clear Spots are so amazing that they were on the top of my favorite releases of 2006 ; sorry but I love ‘em ! ltd72

To order, email ruralfaune [at] neuf [dot] fr

Bones of the Great Divide

. . . Whilst previous albums have been created by tapes moving between the duo, this latest double CD release ‘Bones Of the Great Divide’ was played live, giving the pieces a looser and very vibrant feel which the players maintain over eleven sparkling pieces. One of those albums that reveals its true nature with repeated listening, meaning you will be enjoying even more every time you play it. . . .

This is the Voice of Doom Calling

. . . Over ten tracks, the band paints pictures with sounds, visions of running water, snowy mountaintops, deserted buildings and abandoned cars all coming into my head. . . .

Evening Fires

. . . From magical to mystical, the music of Evening Fires is as beautiful as the starry sky on their self-titled debut. Featuring bells, drums, guitar, organ, flute, synth and voice, this is music for contemplation, delicate and soothing but never twee and boring, the sounds alive with possibility. . . .

Levitate and Dissolve

. . . a roller coaster ride of epic proportions, Robert Cozzolino (Percussion) and George Draguns (Guitars), keeping control of the dynamic tension with great precision. Whilst undoubtedly noisy, the musicians retain control, knowing exactly when to press down on the throttle, something they certainly do on the excellently named ‘Pat Metheney’s Kidney Stone’. . . .

Plays Spiral Isles / Smokehouse Debris

. . . Named ‘Plays Spiral Isles’ the Niagara Falls offer three tracks of wonderful smoke filled music, the second of which ‘Acid Of Ants’ is a tense scuttle of noise that creeps under the skin like that itch you just cannot reach. . . .

. . . Opening with a heavy space rock riff, highly distorted and thunderous in its intent, the band slow it down to enter a far more experimental passage, building into a frenetic crescendo of chaos, the band launching into another killer riff that mixes the Stooges and Hawkwind, finally disintegrating under the weight of their sonic fury. . . .

Sunblinded Visions by a Silver Sea / say goodnight to the evangelist

. . . You can almost hear the waves lapping at the shore and feel the sun on your face, so strong is the mood of the piece an enticing and gentle guitar mixed with electronics, the music evolving into a heart-warming drone filled with bliss. . . .

. . . Following a similar path, The Circle and the Point offer four more pieces of guitar and electronic drone, gently weaving their experimental magic through the brain. . . .

Click here and scroll down to read the full reviews on Terrascope Online

Levitate and Dissolve

. . . I wont cheapen this blissful tornado with any name-dropping and just say this is a seriously able-bodied brainscrambler that rocks hard as heck, but in a completely unconventional -- yet still well rehearsed -- way. . . .

This is the Voice of Doom Calling

. . . I'm going to agree that this is the finest Anvil Salute dish to date, fitting easily with the current free folk/improvised scene while injecting a healthy dose of traditional warmth every second of the way, which makes sense for a bunch'a freaks from Oklahoma. . . .

Sunblinded Visions by a Silver Sea / say goodnight to the evangelist

. . . Pefkin's side is taken up by one extended minimal pop droneout, creeping along on clinking music box melodies and ghost harmonica. . . .

. . . The Circle and the Point mines a similar ore with wandering acoustic guitars/vocals over desolate drones and ambient noises that go from stumbling broken folk jams to full on void scapes and back again, all captured in crumbling live fidelity. . . .

Click here and scroll down to read the full review on Womblife

. . . it´s needless to say that “Levitate and Dissolve” is an incredibly energetic album. Tracks like “Swimming with the Quahogs” or the album ender “Blood Blister” are full of swirling guitar feedback, frenetic drumming and a lot of fresh sweat in the air. . . .

Click here to read the full review at Foxy Digitalis