Broadly speaking, the UK has been slow to embrace the blissed out beacon of Psych orientated New Folk that surfaced at the tail end of the last century and is still shining brightly into the new millennium.
Perhaps this is due to the fact that the most innovative material in this genre still largely stems from the States; a reality acknowledged in this excellent compilation lovingly put together by Cosmos Recordings.
The label is based in North-East England but a third of the 30 tracks on this 2 CD compilation are from the US. The remainder are British, primarily from Northern England and Scotland. The focus is mainly on singer-songwriters with only one instrumental - a lively Krautrock style hoedown (Lunadelica) from Yellow Moon Band.
This appeal of this loosely defined (and often indefinable) genre does not depend on geographical boundaries. Andy of the label explains that the interest stems from the fact that : "it’s real, true, honest music. Any music of any genre that has those qualities will be noticed and have some form of revival".
The album title comes from a misheard quote in a fragile live recording by Texan W.S. Burn (Five Faces Blowing In The Wind) where she actually sings "We are all playing bumper cars and circling the Earth like stars". Something in the ethereal floatiness of these words fits the bill, and no subtitle is given to guide the casual browser.
This should not be a problem as anyone who has lent even half an ear to the sound of New Weird America will require no introduction to the mood set in the starry-eyed opening track by The Skygreen Leopards. Donovan Quinn, the singer from this band, also provides a lost , lovelorn and mildly spaced-out song on the second CD.
Following closely in the footsteps of the pastoral calm of these Jewelled Antler Collective offshoots are fellow Californians, Chinatown Bakeries, who perform the sort of delicate song you'd expect from a band who list “wind & warmth” among their influences. There's also some warm, feel-good pop from Papercuts who are signed to Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabics 'Gnomonsong label'
More worldly material comes from Chicago's intense 'The Singleman Affair', a solo artist who somewhat disarmingly complains of a "nervous sick rash that won't leave you alone", and the much underrrated Diane Cluck who donates a track (Dilapidalliance) from her sublime Monarcana album.
Another familiar name is friend and sometime collaborator with Digitalis guru Brad Rose, Keith Wood, who,performing under the name Hush Arbors, gives a very American appropriation of traditional folk songcraft.
Part of what makes this collection so fascinating is that it offers the possibility of a direct compare and contrast exercise between US and UK artists. For example, Hush Arbor's 'Bless You' is immediately preceded by the Kate Rusby-ish Mary Hampton. It's not always obvious what an all-American psyche brings to the mix but there is certainly something that can make even relatively conventional songs take on a haunted glow that British singers can never quite emulate.
This could explain why so many British artists are musically drawn to America and the West coast in particular. Kerouac inspired Sal Paradise may still be based in Stockton-Upon-Tees but musically they sound like one of California's own. The duo perform the kind of sing-along that would surely draw a healthy crowd to any campfire in the Bay Area woodland.
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Aside from the stateside tracks, the compilation also provides a showcase for Fife's Fence Collective whose inspiration is openly acknowledged. There are contributions from Pip Dylan (as Worn Out Corduroy), Rich Amino and Adrian Crowley. Lone Pigeon, a.k.a. Gordon Anderson - original Beta Band songwriter, also contributes a sleepy folk lament and , needless to say, there's also a regal donation from Gordon's brother Kenny - King Creosote in person.
The inclusion of this batch of twisted folk is in keeping with a more general tendency to favour acoustically orientated singer-songwriting over the more experimental, electric branches of the genre. There is, for instance, a marked absence of the ambient drones or primal leanings that make artists like Charalambides, Animal Collective and Six Organs Of Admittance so crucial to the bigger picture. One artist on this collection who sounds like he has been immersing himself in the latter is Newcastle-upon-Tyne's Booger Red who sounds very like SOOA's Ben Chasny.
In fairness, of course, it would be wrong to expect an album like this to provide an exhaustive overview of a highly varied genre. What it does allow is a chance to make discoveries by giving an invaluable window to unknown artists. In this respect, I would personally count it as a success for three tracks in particular.
One is a beautifully lilting song called 'First Light' by Yorkshire's Elaine Palmer who was the first artist to grace the Cosmos Recordings label back in 2006. The others are by Dubliner Adrian Crowly and Benjamin Weatherill.
Weatherill is from Leeds but could be from anywhere. His tortured sounding voice gives a wonderully creepy quality to a morbid ballad called 'The Cruel Ship's Captian'.
Crowly's is a more conventional take on another salty tale (Brother At Sea) but the poetry of the song and the richness of his voice immediately made me want to seek out more by this highly individual talent.
The last of the 30 tracks is, at over 7 minutes, the longest and offers the more stoned brand of Psychedelica which is not represented on the rest of the album. This is 'Ruins' by The Laughing Windows who are also an exception in being the sole contribution from London. The tune is a relatively restrained affair but nevertheless points to the possibility of a more electric and eclectic follow up compilation where the acoustic guitar and conventional song structures play a less central role.
Generously priced at under a tenner, this is a great value for money musical taster which not surprisingly has already proved to be Cosmos Recording's most succesful release to date. To check availabilty go to:
myspace.com/cosmosrecordings.
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