I've Got Your 7 Inches Right Here #3: featuring DBUK – The Red Cross Is Giving Out Misinformation, Scout Parè Phillips – Fields Of Ash

I was sorting through a whole ton of promos, looking for something a little different.  In the midst of some really cool metal from a label called Pesanta Urfolk, I found these two 7 inchers in a genre referred to as “dark Americana”.  This was enough to pique my interest.  I gave a listen and here we are, with me trying to describe music that I don't listen to very much.

I'll start with DBUK.  There are two songs, just like you would expect on a 7” single.  The title track is basically a simple, repetitive riff on guitar.  There's a little bit of other instrumentation that pops in.  Deep male vocals take the lead with some female harmony.  Basic stuff, really, but sometimes simplicity is the key.  This is really hypnotic music, the guitar serves almost as a drone, and it really pulls you into the song.  There is also a dark sense of humor at work on both of these songs, especially the 2nd track on this one, called “Immaculately Warded Children”.  There are some lyrics in this one that are certainly not PC, although they are not offensive at all and used very humorously.  There was a time when people weren't so uptight and always looking for a reason to be offended, and these lyrics hearken back to that.  Again, fairly simple instrumentation and arrangement, just enough to hold the song together and really pull you in.  I really enjoyed this release.

Our second little morsel of this dark Americana comes from a woman called Scout Parè Phillips.  Although the press release says they both belong in the same genre, these are very different releases.  The vocals on this one are light and airy, and have a very Celtic feel to them.  Try to imagine vintage Joni Mitchell in a Celtic style and you'll kind of have it.  Nothing fancy in either of the two songs here in terms of instrumentation, mostly just guitar with a few other things here and there.  Whereas the previous release was kind of light and humorous, these song feel very weighty and serious.  “Fields Of Ash” and “In The End” are the two songs on this release, are both beautiful songs.  The vocals and guitar work together very, very well and the songs move you along.  I found myself getting very easily swept up in them.  I also found myself listening to this one over and over.

If you are a fan of Americana, roots music, folk music, it is definitely worth your while to check out these two releases.  I don't listen to these genres a lot but there are times when they really hit the spot, and both of these releases do just that.  Sometimes I like to just sit down, sit still and actually listen to music.  Other times I will have it on in the background while I do something else.  Most of the time I find that the music is either one or the other, but I found myself using these two release in both ways, so they definitely stand out from the usual things I listen to.  Check out these artists, and check out the label, Pesanta Urfolk as well.  It is a very interesting label with a fantastic mix of artists, and if feels almost as though the folks behind it are curators of something rather than just pumping out music.  Well done all the way around.

 -ODIN


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