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In the Garden of Ghostflowers
CD Album 2006 | Silber 053 11 tracks, 50 minutes $12 ($14 international, $5 download (256kbps, ~93 megs)) : More info track listing: The Leaves of Life, In the Garden of the Ghostflowers, Whore, Edward, Of the Wind and Loneliness, Oh How They Weep and Moan, A Lyke Wake Dirge, How Many Hours 'Til the Spider's Work is Done?, Wolf and Hare, Hand in Hand, Be Thou My Vision |
Black Happy Day is the collaboration
between ex-Lycia member Tara Vanflower and Stone Breath’s Timothy Renner.
A creation which, despite being a relatively new release, will surely find
a niche home for those into apocalyptic folk what with the influence of
bands like Current 93 and Death in June apparent from the outset.
The archaic, “The Leaves
of Life” starts our transportation into this paganistic plane, with Renner’s
singing deep and chant-like while Vanflower’s voice haunts in the background,
providing a twisted helix to a very old song. A modus operandi that is
used to great effect throughout most of the tracks.
While the atmosphere of
“The Leaves of Life” is almost certainly rooted within European folk sound,
Vanflower and Renner’s own writing creates a much more American roots feel.
“In The Garden of Ghostflowers”, being the first example that provides
simple and sweet guitar work mixed with harmonious bittersweet lyrics that
creates a cohesion of Americana folk and the sort of hallucinogenic lyrical
content common in the works of the aforementioned bands.
“Edward” is perhaps the
first stand-out track via a strong Mediterranean element within the musical
composition (and choice of instruments used) that pulls together Renner’s
and Vanflower’s own quirks and weaves them into a yielding and mesmerising
track, full of depth and durability.
There’s something definitely
Louisianan (or Mississippian respectively) in the guitar work on “How They
Weep and Moan!” and while the track is only one minute and twenty-nine
seconds long, it’s still enough to make you want to start eating Cajun
chicken while performing voodoo rites!
“How Many Hours ‘Till the
Spiders Work is done?” (a reference to Coil’s Plastic Spider Thing LP I’m
sure…or maybe I’m just reading into titles too much), is another superbly
strange track, with more world music sounds warped into a dark and brooding
atmosphere (the atmosphere increased via Vanflower’s enchanting hums) creating
the kind of audible space one would expect to hear within a iniquitous
temple ceremony far from the beaten track.
“Wolf & Hare” (A name
referenced heavily via the albums brilliant sketched art work) is perhaps
the most experimental of the tracks, its’ surreal hallucinogenic repetitions
and monotonous dictations closer to the kind of work NON produces than
any of the more folk-based bands like Band of Pain, Of the Wand and The
Moon (and the aforesaid groups). Regardless, “Wolf & Hare” has enough
oddity about it to warrant further listening and contemplation.
While many bands have been
mentioned here, Black Happy Day have mastered the art of identity at least,
via producing an album that is both a homage to the genre it so closely
follows as well as being perfectly unique product in its own right.
To put it as simply as possible,
if you’re a fan of the genre, anything weird or idiosyncratic, taxidermy
or getting up to no good in Necropolises then this is the album for you.
~ Michael Byrne, Left Hip
Black Happy Day is a collaboration
of Tara VanFlower (Lycia) and Timothy Renner (Stone Breath), and if you
know these two artists, you'll have a pretty good idea of what a combination
would sounds like. In the Garden of Ghostflowers is a strange and original
mixture of traditional song (in wyrdfolk style), cold darkwave, and further
experiments. Not your everyday concept, in short, but Tara and Timothy
make it work nonetheless.
"The Leaves of Life" starts
off the album with the two contrastive voices singing in unison - Timothy's
dark and low, Tara's high and clear - both delayed and reverbed. The manipulation
of vocals returns often throughout the album, enhancing the ghostly air
that hangs about much of this music. The title track introduces the banjo,
which provides a backdrop for Tara's voice which now rises in pitch. The
third track, however, is different again. "Whore" is a dark, minimal ambient
piece, with Tara's manipulated voice approaching the style of someone like
Jarboe. Very gloomy and atmospheric. This interchanging of styles continues
throughout the album, providing a lot of variation.
I won't dissect every song,
but some deserve special mention. The traditional "Edward" unites the styles
of the first two tracks into a wyrdfolk duet with strange effects lurking
beneath the surface. "How many hours 'til the Spider's work is done?" is
one of my favourite tracks of the album, a long meditative piece with impressive
vocals (once again calling to mind Swans), sitar, and a dark layers of
bass. The last two tracks end the album on a happier note. "Hand in Hand"
is a sweet little duet, while "Be Thou My Vision" is a hopeful devotional
song.
In the Garden of Ghostflowers
is a very original and varied album. I can't explain why exactly, but for
some reason I don't 'dig' this album as much as I would expect based on
the sound and elements used. Nevertheless, this is good stuff, and if anyone
is looking for an original approach to modern and traditional song, with
a touch of darkwave and dark atmospheres, this is an excellent album to
check out.
~ Evening of Light
The best description for
this totally stunning album is to imagine in your head a full collaboration
between Douglas P (Deathin June) with Rose McDowell (Current 93).
This collaboration between Timothy Renner (Stone Breath) & Tara VanFlower
(Lycia, solo) is absolutely unnerving in its chaotic beauty. The
brilliant harmony work between the the two vocalists can't be described
as anything other than whatever you have never heard before. It's
a haunting lullaby, a silent prayer, or the ravings of a seduced lunatic
depending on the track you choose. This is THE must have for this
issue. Your record collection is incomplete without it.
~ Poseidon, Gothic Beauty
Black Happy Day is a collaboration
between Tara VanFlower (Lycia) and Timothy Renner (late of Stone Breath)
from the always intriguing and exhilirating Silber imprint. From a capella
versions of such traditional tales as “The Leaves of Life” to the dulcimer-driven
title track, Renner and VanFlower merge centuries of traditional tales,
making them sound as fresh as if they were written yesterday, while making
their own ballads (murder and otherwise), seem as if they were written
in Appalachia at the turn of the 20th century. The chronological dichotomy
is matched by the vocal disparaties between VanFlower’s soft, litling soprano
and Renner’s gruff, monotonic moans.
Like a wyrdfolk version
of Fairport Convention, Black Happy Day breathe new life into centuries-old
ballads like “Edward” and “A Lyke Wake Dirge,” which are so perfectly blended
with the duo’s originals that you’d swear the album consisted entirely
of original compositions. VanFlower’s childlike, wordless vocals and Renner’s
Glitchgear music box sends chills through the spine on the terror-stricken
“Of The Wind and Loneliness,” which ultimately sounds perfectly suited
to one of Dario Argento’s classic horror tales.
“Oh How They Weep and Moan”
is another shitstorm of a horrorshow, with Renner and VanFlower assuming
the roles of lost souls aimlessly roaming the depths of Purgatory or one
of Dante’s circles of Hell, wailing and gnashing (or, more acurately, “weeping
and moaning”) for all eternity. There are more haunting, wordless vocals
from Tara and spooky, backward-looped electronics from Timothy, which add
a mystical, almost liturgical aura to “How Many Hours ‘Til The Spider’s
Work Is Done?” where you can almost smell the incense burning. It’s all
very soothing and dreamy, at times halllucinatory and refreshingly at odds
with the nightmarish qualities of the other material. Just don’t drive
to this too late at night for fear of ending up dazed and confused in a
ditch on the side of the road! Finally, “Hand In Hand” is a lovely folk
duet with a litling, poppy lullabye melody, making it the album’s most
accessible track, let alone its most beautiful. It ends the album on a
hopeful note, providing solace from its more gruesome surroundings.
Overall, a mesmerizing trip
through three centuries of Americana and old-tyme folk ballads, ambient
horror tales and psychedelic wyrdfolk that should appeal to more than just
the fans of the artists involved. In fact, I would highly recommended it
to fans of dark Americana, ambient wyrdfolk from the likes of Nurse with
Wound or VanFlower’s Lycia project, and especially fans of the essential-viewing
“Songcatcher” film from a few years back, which explores the origins of
Appalachian music and one woman’s efforts to rescue it from obscurity.
This will also appeal to fans of Lycia’s darker releases and Renner’s work
with The Spectral Light and Moonshine Firefly Snakeoil Jamboree, as well
as his recent effort as the Revelator, “Hoofbeat Caw & Thunder.”
~ Jeff Penczak, Foxy Digitalis
Black Happy Day is a collaboration
between acid folk outfit Stone Breath's Timothy Renner and Lycia's
Tara Vanflower. In the eighties and nineties, Lycia roamed the dank,
darkened halls of ethereal goth ambience, and knowing this will give you
a fairly good impression of the sounds on this disc. Their self-identification
as purveyors of ambient roots music just touches on this recording.
Over the course of seven orugunals and four traditional covers, Black Happy
Day create an at times discomfiting inner world where reflective banjos
parry with electronica, music box ballerinas twirl through mutant gospel
chants, and Eastern psychadelia drones over faux medieval atmospheres.
Unsurprisngly, In the Garden of Ghostflowers works best when the duo are
not exercising dark-wave pretension and flirt with Americana, and this
is best heard on the traditional covers. For example, opener "The
Leaves of Life" (also known as "Seven Virgins") becomes an acapella spiritual
of deeply echoed vocals, which is quite arresting, and certainly sets the
stage for all that follows. On the original "How They Weep and Moan,"
processed wailing soars around a primitive banjo and vocal. The song
skirts annoying, but in the end is effective. The disc closes with
gospel number "Be Thou My Vision," the most straightforward track here.
~ Michael Meade, Skyscraper
Black Happy Day, a collaboration
between Lycia's Tara Vanflower and Stone Breath's Timothy Renner, blends
elements of both artists' work into something of a folk/ambient/experimental
hybrid. On their full-length debut, In the Garden of Ghostflowers, the
duo share vocal duties atop a diverse framework that is sometimes sparse
and stark while at other times dense, often due to sound processing, and
layered. The disc's production is well done, taking liberty with experimentation
and spatial layout while often retaining a low-key, organic air that serves
the material well.
Of the disc's eleven tracks,
it should be noted that four (namely "The Leaves of Life", "Edward", "A
Lyke Wake Dirge", and "Be Thou My Vision") are traditional songs, albeit
usually with slightly more experimental modern arrangements that take full
advantage of technology through the use of sound processing, particularly
delay and reverb. These four are largely guitar/banjo/dulcimer/vocal-oriented
folk tunes, the haunting "Edward" arguably being the most impressive and
"The Leaves of Life" standing out for it's delay-effected, layered a cappella
delivery.
Vanflower and Renner's original
compositions encompass similar folk offerings (the disc's title track,
the catchy highlight "Hand in Hand", and the short and quirky "How They
Weep and Moan!", featuring layered wailing from Vanflower). However, they
also expand into more experimental/ambient territory, the nearly-10-minute
"How Many Hours 'Til the Spider's Work is Done?", blending processed string
drones and spacious layered male and female vocals, coming close to bridging
the gap between the disc's two styles. Of the album's more sonically adventurous
outings, "Wolf & Hare" is arguably the most interesting, a running
water backdrop with more musical ambient elements and layered and processed
spoken word vocals melting into a sparser guitar-driven dirge. "Of the
Wind and Loneliness" is also notable, if only for the fact that its music
box-esque lullaby delivery sounds like nothing else on the disc.
Combining differing styles
and songs spanning centuries yet managing to work them into a nearly seamless
album, Black Happy Day have managed to construct a work that serves its
folk roots well with a highly organic sound while also incorporating a
fairly heavy amount of sonic experimentation. Those simply here for the
folk side may find the disc's several lengthy ambient/experimental outings
a bit hard to swallow, but ambient/ethereal fans with a penchant for dark
folk music should give Black Happy Day's impressive debut a listen.
~ Joshua Heinrich, Grave
Concerns
If you’re in the market for
some dead of the night, backwoods creepiness, then Black Happy Day will
merrily guide you through swamplands and blighted forests. Ghosts are indeed
abundant on In the Garden of Ghostflowers; what they want is never quite
clear — do they merely desire to warm their hollow bones next to your campfire,
or will they leap through the flames and pull breath from the ladder of
your ribcage for just a fleeting taste of the bittersweet exhalation of
life that they can never own again?
The duo of Tara Vanflower
and Timothy Renner provide the voices: shimmering, fleeting, strong and
insistent, fragile and translucent, messengers with only the energy to
break into this realm and deliver their missives, evaporating before the
last syllable has rung through the trees.
Had they relied only on
a cappella phrasings, In the Garden of Ghostflowers would have still birthed
a disquieting collection of drones and atmospheric wanderings. But their
implementation of instrumentation and sound effects augment their voices,
providing extra color, larger backdrops over which to spin their unsettled
tales.
Steel-stringed guitar turns
a traditional number like "Edward" into a warped raga folk ditty, Vanflower
and Renner trading lines back forth, parting lovers unable to release their
embrace as keening animals provide a shifting backdrop. Gouts of water
emulate a crackling fire as incantations are recited on "Wolf & Hare,"
the fire slowly subdued by a sparse acoustic guitar dirge that plaintively
overlaps desiccated vocal swaths by Renner. "Whore" evokes a clearer, less
abstract version of Liz Harris’ work in Grouper; Vanflowers’ lamentations
undulating over misty, uneven ground and mysterious drones carry her voice
forward like rickety carts, finally breaking down in a drift of electronic
gurgles and flutters, passage into a different plane.
But for sheer hair-on-end,
mysterious-sound-from-under-the-bed, get-me-the-hell-out-of-here eeriness,
"Of the Wind and Loneliness" trumps all. Imagine being lost in the woods,
you round a bend to find a grown woman with a distressingly child-like
face sitting cross-legged on the ground, twigs are sticking out of her
hair, a tattered, gossamer sundress hangs from her shoulders and smudges
of dirt and bruises peeking through every tear and hole in the material.
In her lap, she works a musicbox through erratic paces, her voice girlishly
tra-la-la-ing and out of step with the notes, a mixture of vacancy and
bemusement shining in her eyes. Your impulse is to help but for the seven
foot behemoth standing behind her muttering non-descript sounds from a
cavernous chest, his eyes conveying both protectiveness and pleading. And
you know, intrinsically, that one of them is going to leap at you at any
moment while the other mourns that they can’t prevent it from happening.
Black Happy Day taps into
a realm devoid of any era, an agelessness where voices thrown to the prevailing
winds are all that’s necessary to carry their stories across time and space.
~ Maelstrom
Timothy Renner of Stone Breath,
and Tara Vanflower of Lycia are Black Happy Day. They make a darkly hallucinatory
sort of personal and traditional folk music blended with some chilly goth
flavored atmospherics. Dreamy reveries, and more songlike pieces blend,
as do the highly contrasting vocals of both participants. An eerie mix
of acoustic textures, and incantations, spoken pices, and witchy evocations
in the dark.
~ George Parsons, Dream
Magazine
If the Swans hadn't existed,
this twisted ambient folk album from Lycia's Tara Vanflower and Stone Breath's
Timothy Renner might not sound nearly as unnecessary as it does now.
Simply, Vanflower isn't Jarboe and Renner isn't Michael Gira. It's
hard to damn them for it, but Ghostflowers just doesn't feel as emotionally
bare as it should. It's less interested on telling the story, more
interested in creating the atmosphere. This doesn't come as a complete
surprise considering I often felt the same way about Lycia, lovely people
but not nearly as engaging as artists. As I'm not entirely enthralled
by the genre, I'll stick to the masters while others may be inclined to
dig to the second tier in Black Happy Day.
~ Ryan Michael Painter,
Slug Magazine
Described by the label as
'ambient roots music' this is in fact a crossroad creative combination
of styles from Timothy Renner (Stone Breath,..) and Tara Vanflower (Lycia,..).
While Timothy’s music usually was rooted in a kind of neo-folk style, with
some experimentation, Tara Van Flower used voice with ambient music, with
a not too deliberate Gothic association with an individual choice of style.
In this melting pot, both talents were often deeply mixed with the extra
phoenix-factor derived from creativity. There were also chosen four traditionals
of which some of them were an inspiration before by Timothy, but in a different
way. I think also previously used songs by Timothy were used to receive
a complete new arrangement and sound. This new sound is in fact a whole
new style inspiration for both artists who have assembled all what they’ve
done before into a new marriage of style. The collection is mostly weeping
songs with the theme of death and destiny. None of the grieving in the
songs comes too much forward in real emotions-on-the-moment; the songs
are more like ghosts of these lost and unattended cries, carried away by
the wind (this is like “how the weep and moan" is described).
"The leaves of life" sounds
like a death ballad, with some echoed distortion on the voice, hung-over
of where and why the cry was set. "In the garden of ghostflowers" is sung
in acid folk styled duet with picking guitar. Even with lots of feedback
on the voice, like on “whore”, another story of sad destiny, lead by Tara,
the folk flavour is also never too far away, like on “Edward”. "Of the
wind and loneliness" is like a musical box lullaby from a left alone and
unattended child’s (or person’s) grief. Also "A lake wake dirge", which
is arranged with various harmony vocals, carries a similar cry, -do I hear
oud here (?)-. "How many hours" has an Indian flavour. The background vocal
arrangements by Tara here come very close to the way Amelia Cuni experimented
with Indian singing overdubs. We hear here also some Indian flavoured drone
instrument, caused by effects on the instrument recording, and by the specific
droning instrument sound (?). On “Hand in Hand" I recognise Tara's style
of voice loops and water. This has a second part of guitar by Timothy,
with wa-wa-like effects echoing around, and the actual song. "Wolf and
hare” is another nice and simple folk duet with guitar. These last few
songs lead almost unconsciously to a spiritual solution of the darkness
of its themes. Last song "Be thou vision" is therefore also like a happy
ending, in a gospel psychfolk style, an expression as if the voices of
these ghosts one day will gather and unite in harmony. Like the series
of pictures of a wolf and rabbit in the booklet, united in themes of death,
trying to find peace, the concept of this release is surely a successful
expression of a black happy day. An interesting collection and succesful
concept.
Instruments used were vocals,
guitar, motheart (?), water, ektara (?), relevator-guitar (?), ministrel
banjo, glitchgear musicbox, dulcimer, saintbanjo (?), harmonium, feedback.
~ Gerald Van Waes, Psyche
Van Het Folk
One of the stranger records
of the year. Black Happy Day--members of Stone Breath and dream-gothics
Lycia, go from vocal exercises to a medievel version of Beat Happening
within the first few minutes, burning with self-indulgence. The third track,
called (gasp!) "Whore," features disembodied vocals atop sounds delivered
straight from an old sci-fi film, while wierd ones such as "A Lyke Wake
Dirge" are just a mystery, with an Asian-music banjo and the many vocal
efforts of unusual baritone Timothy Renner. A challenge and a half.
~ Kenyon Hopkin, Advanced
Copy
Black Happy Day is an unexpected
collaboration between Tara Vanflower (of Lycia) and Timothy Renner (Stone
Breath, Mourning Cloak, Spectral Light & Moonshine Firefly Snakeoil
Jamboree and the Revelator). Acoustic guitars pluck beautiful chords alongside
banjos, dulcimer, harmonium, glitchgear musicbox, vocal effects and feedback.
What makes this album hit so much deeper than your regular folk album is
the aura of mystique that runs through all of the album's 51 minutes. One
important element that helps create this bewitching beauty is Vanflowers’
feather-light voice, which works like a sharp contrast to Renner’s solemn
baritone. The simple but astoundingly chilling "Of the Wind And Loneliness"
displays this with the sound of a banjo successfully riding on the ridge
between the two voices. If you’re already a fan of Renner’s experimental
take on old-time folk music you’ll definitely need this and if you’re not,
well than it is time to give him another go.
~ Mats Gustafson. The Broken
Face
Described by the label as
'ambient roots music' this is in fact a crossroad creative combination
of
styles from Timothy Renner (Stone Breath,..) and Tara Vanflower (Lycia,..).
While Timothy’s music usually was rooted in a kind of neo-folk style, with
some experimentation, Tara Van Flower used voice with ambient music, with
a not too deliberate Gothic association with an individual choice of style.
In this melting pot, both talents were often deeply mixed with the extra
phoenix-factor derived from creativity. There were also chosen four traditionals
of which some of them were an inspiration before by Timothy, but in a different
way. I think also previously used songs by Timothy were used to receive
a complete new arrangement and sound. This new sound is in fact a whole
new style inspiration for both artists who have assembled all what they’ve
done before into a new marriage of style. The collection is mostly weeping
songs with the theme of death and destiny. None of the grieving in the
songs comes too much forward in real emotions-on-the-moment; the songs
are more like ghosts of these lost and unattended cries, carried away by
the wind (this is like “how the weep and moan" is described).
"The leaves of life" sounds
like a death ballad, with some echoed distortion on the voice, hung-over
of where and why the cry was set. "In the garden of ghostflowers" is sung
in acid folk styled duet with picking guitar. Even with lots of feedback
on the voice, like on “whore”, another story of sad destiny, lead by Tara,
the folk flavour is also never too far away, like on “Edward”. "Of the
wind and loneliness" is like a musical box lullaby from a left alone and
unattended child’s (or person’s) grief. Also "A lake wake dirge", which
is arranged with various harmony vocals, carries a similar cry, -do I hear
oud here (?)-. "How many hours" has an Indian flavour. The background vocal
arrangements by Tara here come very close to the way Amelia Cuni experimented
with Indian singing overdubs. We hear here also some Indian flavoured drone
instrument, caused by effects on the instrument recording, and by the specific
droning instrument sound (?). On “Hand in Hand" I recognise Tara's style
of voice loops and water. This has a second part of guitar by Timothy,
with wa-wa-like effects echoing around, and the actual song. "Wolf and
hare” is another nice and simple folk duet with guitar. These last few
songs lead almost unconsciously to a spiritual solution of the darkness
of its themes. Last song "Be thou vision" is therefore also like a happy
ending, in a gospel psychfolk style, an expression as if the voices of
these ghosts one day will gather and unite in harmony. Like the series
of pictures of a wolf and rabbit in the booklet, united in themes of death,
trying to find peace, the concept of this release is surely a successful
expression of a black happy day. An interesting collection and succesful
concept.
Instruments used were vocals,
guitar, motheart (?), water, ektara (?), relevator-guitar (?), ministrel
banjo, glitchgear musicbox, dulcimer, saintbanjo (?), harmonium, feedback.
~ Gerald Van Waes, Psyche
van het folk
Sometimes a little strange
can be very delightful. And when you listen to “In The Garden Of Ghostflowers”
you’ll get a good example of this. Black Happy Day is a collaboration between
Tara Vanflower (Lycia) and Timothy Renner (Stone Breath). I’m not familiar
with these projects so the fact that ‘when you know both of these artists,
it sounds exactly like you might think’- which can be read on the infosheet
– does not profide me any information. Without prejudice I started to listen
to this release.
Delivered with beautiful
artwork, “In The Garden Of Ghostflowers” brings us eleven songs in which
a combination is made between old folklore texts, folky music and ambient/soundscapes.
A strange, but notwithstanding a successful combination.
The singing of mister Renner
is annoying but the singing of Tara is fitting, so the songs in which only
she delivers the vocals are nicer to listen to. Also the songs in which
more attention is paid to the ambient sounds are better worked out than
those with the folky instruments. There aren’t any highlights on this album,
but there also aren’t very irritating tunes. So I can easily concluded
that with “In The Garden Of Ghostflowers” Black Happy Day has made and
interesting album.
~ Gothtronic
Black Happy Day describes
their music on In The Garden Of Ghostflowers as "ambient roots music".
As with all ambient music, Black Happy Day's amorphous, drifting sound
often leaves the listener with very little point of reference. But unlike
the typical ambient approach, which leaves the listener within a somewhat
blissful place, Black Happy Day leaves the listener smack dab in the middle
of a foreboding, constantly shifting environment.
The duo's vocals are layered
and shifted slightly out of phase with normality thanks to generous portions
of reverb and echo. Adding to the harrowing, dreamlike tone are exotic
drones, amorphous metallic tones, and shuddering walls of dripping sound
that ooze, reverberate, and shimmer within and throughout the duo's sculpted
vocals.
Such an approach can be
intriguing and even enthralling at times, but it can also become tedious.
In The Garden Of Ghostflowers has a very solemn, plodding air about it,
which is only enhanced by the often portentous lyrics sung, chanted, and
intoned by Vanflower and Renner.
Not surprisingly, In The
Garden Of Ghostflowers's strongest moments come when the album is at its
most roots-y. Here, the band's sound warms up slightly and strands of more
traditional instrumentation (guitar, banjo, dulcimer, harmonium) drift
within hearing range, offering something a little more solid and substantial
to lean on.
But Vanflower and Renner
certainly don't adopt a purist approach to the traditional ballads and
hymns that appear on the disc. The same drones and other haunting sonics
that permeate more abstract songs such as "Whore" and "How Many Hours 'Til
The Spider's Work Is Done" are still present on "The Leaves Of Life" and
"A Lyke Wake Dirge".
This approach to traditional,
beloved hymns and ballads, an approach that "roots music" fans would probably
characterize as "odd" (at best), does bring with it a certain authenticity.
It seems appropriate that an ages-old hymn, or a medieval text calling
for repentance, should sound removed from modernity. Such songs should,
in some ways, sound like they're relics; as if they're cracked and weathered,
missing pieces, barely holding together as the years go on, and coated
with the same sort of patina that casts old photographs with a golden haze.
"Edward"'s Appalachian tale
of bloodshed, brothers killing brothers, and guilt becomes especially affecting
thanks to the droning guitars and dulcimers, while the gloomy, reverb-laden
call and response between Vanflower and Renner makes them sound like the
ghosts of two old lovers separated by oceans and guilt (Renner's stark
voice is aptly chilling for a man recounting a tale of murder).
This "odd" approach results
in the album's high point, the eerie rendition of "Be Thou My Vision" that
comes at the end. The song has a warmer, more intimate tone than the rest
of the album, thanks to Renner's rich acoustic guitar and the more subdued
dronework. But as the duo winds their way through the beloved hymn, the
many echoes of Vanflower's voice take on a life of their own, drifting
upwards to form a strange little spectral choir that continues on after
the duo is silent. It's a lovely, albeit unsettling piece, these disembodied
voices chanting fragments of the hymn on top of eachother, until all of
the words blur together and become one sacred sound.
For all of the pretense
that often characterizes In The Garden Of Ghostflowers, there is something
that Black Happy Day seems to understand almost intuitively at times. When
the duo's love for antiquated tunes meshes with their ghostly drones, effects,
and vocals, the results can be mighty affecting. The duo's cold, disconcerting
sound is given the warmth and humanity that it may not otherwise contain,
and the otherworldly sonics tap into and highlight the mystic weight that
old ballads and hymns often possess, but which is often forgotten.
~ Jason Morehead, Opus
Black Happy Day is the collaboration
between Tara Vanflower (Lycia) & Timothy Renner (Stone Breath). This
project inhabits the same creaky attics and bleak basements as Moodring
(the Rollerball side project of Mini Wagonwheel & Mae Starr). The combination
of traditional songs and modern technology make an interesting amalgamation.
I will be honest. On first
listen, the music of Black Happy Day can be quite off putting, especially
the first track. It is a reworking of the traditional song “The Leaves
of Life.” It is mostly an a cappella duet between Tara’s unaltered vocals
and Timothy’s heavily delayed and manipulated ones. At first, I found the
mixture of delay and reverb of Timothy vocals distracting and unnecessary.
After many listens, I have found that this odd combination provides necessary
preparation for all the strangeness that follows on the rest of the record.
The more traditional folk
title track “In the Garden of the Ghostflower” is pleasant after the disturbing
opening track. “Whore” uses whistling feedback and odd electronic gurgles.
Tara’s heavily delayed vocals sound like they are encased in amber. The
vocals seem to be played backwards despite moving in a forward direction.
I found the use of just feedback as the main instrument on this track very
interesting. “Edward,” another traditional tune, is reworked so it sounds
practically medieval with a Middle Eastern tinge.
The hilarious “How they
Weep and Moan” seems to poke fun at all the dourness on the rest of the
record. Tara does an impression of a possessed evil chipmunk that is overdubbed
over her own sobbing and moaning. The press sheet describes the traditional
songs such as “A Lyke Wake Dirge” as Americana, but it seems to me that
such songs are far more ancient.
My favorite track of the
disc is the minimalist “How many hours ‘til the spider’s work is done?”
It opens with what sounds like a backwards playing sitar before being joined
by Tara’s ghostly moans. Then Timothy’s deep baritone joins the mix along
with Tara’s slightly delayed vocals. The song builds in complexity, becoming
denser towards the conclusion. “Neither can I sleep or wake. But still
I lie and still I wait. And how many hours ‘til the spider’s work is done?”
“Hand in Hand” is the most
traditionally rendered of the traditional songs on the album. It is stunning
in its simplicity and beauty. The album ends with another traditional hymn
“Be Thou My Vision.” The juxtaposition of old traditional songs and modern
musical technology makes for a fascinating arrangement. While this record
is challenging, patience is rewarded with each repeated listen as more
of the audio artistry is revealed.
~ Dan Cohoon, amplitude
equals one over frequency squared
How I love goth music! Truly,
I do. The only problem is that I've been "away" on holidays for the last
couple of decades while the world of goth music has morphed behind my back.
Black Happy Day is a new collaborative effort between Lycia's vocalist
Tara Vanflower and Timothy Renner of Stone Breath. The music they make
on their debut is shimmering with as much warmth as it is full of dark
abandon. Starting off with an ominous black-mass chant of duelling vocals
from the two leaders, "The Leaves of Life" leads us into a world that is
dark, cool while at the same time being inviting. This is folk music for
the goth in you. This is goth music for the folkie in you. At times, it
even splurges into the ambient territory, comfortably walking the line
into quiet atmospherics. Title track features some tightly knit feedback
that is surrounded by both vocalists' eerie vocal chords. Tara is all baritone
wonder, while with his balmy vocals, Timothy Renner is a perfect balance.
An almost ten minute long "How Many Hours' Til The Spider's Work is Done?"
features waves of dulcimer, harmonium, modified banjo. This whole mess
sounds more like a meditation of sorts, rather than an actual song. Next
track over, "Wolf & Hare" features a further meditation accompanied
by sampled rainfall and deeply buried spoken passages from Tara. This is
where Black Happy Day shine. In extended audio form, they get plenty of
opportunity to stretch and put out as much of their experimental foot forward.
It's a scary journey. But don't be afraid. These two don't bite. Fact is,
the atmosphere is as warm as a boiling pot of water.
~ Tom Sekowski, Gaz-eta
Black Happy Day does seem
a perfect name for this duo. Tara Vanflower and Timothy Renner perform
a handful of traditional folk songs, hymns, and dirges along with seven
of their own compositions. Otherworldly vocals and production effects –sometimes,
but not always, subtle– color the material. Old, religiously-themed songs
are accompanied by simply-played acoustic instruments such as guitar, banjo,
and dulcimer, then displayed in settings of overdubbed voices, loops, and
sound processing. Vanflower’s vocals cover a lot of bases, from angelic
(#2) to bluesy like Billie Holiday (#3) to the haunted wail of the dead
(#6). Renner’s voice stays low and gravelly, providing a nice contrast
to hers. Ear-catchers for me: #8 uses a backwards tamboura for a cool drone
effect. On #9, the juxtaposition of two simultaneous spoken word parts
over a noisy watery background is quite disturbing, after which the track
moves into a calm guitar-based piece. #10 is a charming, bittersweet acoustic
duet. I love this CD.
~ Max Level, KFJC
Poetic, frightening, and
pure, the collaboration of Tara Vanflower (Lycia/Solo) and Timothy Renner
(Stone Breath) provide songs that do not lie within the usual formulas
of music. This album begins with the eerie “The Leaves of Life,”
chanted in poetry form by shared vocals of Renner (a chanting bass) and
Vanflower (chanting and ethereally beautiful).
It progresses through the
shocking brutality of “Whore,” which swims in the essence of self-deprecation
and loathing, the ancient-like story telling of “Edward,” and chilling
musicality of “Of The Wind and Loneliness.” There is the witch-like
dirge of “How They Weep and Moan,” with its unsettling chants and percussion,
and the ancient musical form of the prayerful “A Lyke Wake Dirge.”
In The Garden of Ghostflowers
benefits greatly from the marriage of Vanflower’s equally eerie and ethereal
vocals and her affiliation with Lycia and Timothy Renner’s involvement
with Stone Breath, whose own hymn-like tunes were unique in their presentations.
Together, their project can be considered dark and remarkable. You
must approach the strangely named band with an anticipation of foreboding
music. In the Garden of Ghostflowers is not your typical Top 40 music
nor is it airy. It is, instead, a dive into the darkness without
a parachute; it is an album of originality and of beauty. It is distinctly
not for everyone but, for those who are complete music lovers, it will
be a rewarding experience.
This is Silber’s most notable
original release in their catalogue aside from their remastering of the
classic Lycia canon.
~ Matt Rowe, Music Tap
Imagine if the Cocteau Twins
got stuck in molasses. In January. Imagine if Death In June took really
acidy ecstasy in outer space. Imagine if Amber Asylum had been from Athens,
GA. Or that Mary Margaret O'Hara fell asleep listening to Scorpion Wind
and woke up as Lady Miss Kier in a poem read aloud by Ezra Pound.
Curious?
You should be. Get this
album NOW. No, get it YESTERDAY.
~ Ginnie Moon, Lunar Hypnosis
“How They Weep and Moan!"
- from In the Garden of Ghostflowers
An uncomfortable description
for an unnerving song: the slough shed or pooling in the center of the
bed after an unholy night between Neko Case and Michael Gira, In the Garden
of Ghostflowers is an album of re-imagined traditionals and lucid, gothic
folk, a collection of unashamed melodrama and starkly creepy Americana
backwash. “How They Weep and Moan!” is maybe the most overt representation
of the lot, marrowed banjo clipping over Tara Vanflower’s multi-tracked
howls. Timothy Renner speaks in gutturals, intoning indulgent Tom Waits
lyrics for those too caught up in Vanflower’s spectral backdrop to make
much of a fuss. On top of Renner, she chatters in infantile cackles, “…wail
for the dead! We wail for the dead!” Renner and his banjo are sandwiched
between her thighs, between luscious coos and farting speech impediments.
Because this is sensual in the crassest of connotations, teeming with maggots,
sinew and portent and all.
The rest of Ghostflowers
creaks and crawls in both directions away from “How They Weep,” the disc’s
tiny centerpiece. It’s a harrowing cusp, but a brief and determined inculcation
of all experimentation, tone, reverence, and paranoia that seems to define
Black Happy Day. Vanflower and Renner, part of the burgeoning Silber family,
got a startling chemistry at work here, something that, while contradictory
and unsettling, reaches a strange accessibility in simplicity alone. There
aren’t many bones in play, and god knows what a “saintbanjo” is, but for
every snaggletoothed, evangelical attempt at a swamp dirge, Black Happy
Day backs it with fantastically wounded intrigue. Sometimes the conceit
pays, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes the difference between the two
is enough to spark a bit of heavy devotion.
~ Dom Sinacola, Cokemachineglow
How can a black day be happy?
Maybe an oxymoron? It's also the name of a collaboration between Tara Vanflower
(of Lycia fame) and Timothy Renner (of Stone Breath), the latter of whom
I never heard. I must admit it's a strange affair this, but not an unpleasant
one. It's a very odd combination of vocals by both Vanflower and Renner,
who have quite opposite voices: one beautiful angelic like and one quite
low. The instruments used are furthermore guitar, banjo and dulcimer. This
however doesn't lead to Lycia like lyrical, heavenly voices music (which
I used to put down as gothic, quite untrue of course) - at least not all
the way through. There are some pieces in that quasi mediaeval style. In
fact there make several traditional songs into something new, but in all
their further treatments, Black Happy Day, are way more experimental than
say Lycia or Dead Can Dance. Some of the other pieces just use voice, but
then dubbed around, in combination with feedback and reverb. This however
doesn't lead to some harsh noise, but rather beautiful pieces of haunting
and somewhat frightening music. The beautiful, mediaeval style in combination
with experiments of the twenty-first century: that is indeed a strange
affair, but strangely enough it works really well.
~ Frans de Waard, Vital
Weekly
Black Happy Day is a collaboration
between Tara Vanflower of the ambient influenced goth rockers Lycia and
Timothy Renner of the acid folksters Stone Breath. And that little bit
of information alone gives you an idea of what the music sounds like. In
the Garden of Ghost Flowers is a combination of haunting, psychedelic folk
and moody experimental soundscapes.
The duo succeeds on both
counts, especially on the more avant-garde ambient front, as on the amazing
(though somewhat unfortunately titled) Whore, which combines Spartan electronics
with Tara’s haunting voice to excellent effect. Of the Wind and Loneliness
is a strange and haunting soundscape as well, utilizing a xylophone-like
sound along with both performers voices, and has a touch of Rosemary’s
Baby soundtrack ambience to it. Very creepy! And the lengthy How Many Hours
Till the Spider’s Work Is Done is a deep and spacey meditation of weird,
backwards sitar and ghostly voices.
On the freak folk front
are tripped out songs like the title track with its multiple layers of
voices and lo-fi acoustic guitar creating a dreamy, mist shrouded space
and the damaged, Comus inspired How the Weep and Moan, which needless to
say is somewhat disturbing! It’s not all dark though. The album ends on
two brighter notes with the surprisingly beautiful and even romantic Hand
In Hand and the droning and spiritual Be Thou My Vision, the latter seemingly
heralding the sunrise after the long dark night of the soul.
In the Garden of Ghostflowers
took a few listens before I started getting into it. But it has this seductive
pull to it that slowly but inexorably draws you into its hidden little
world. Give it a chance, and you’ll find yourself dancing in the garden
too.
~ Jeff Fitzgerald, Aural
Innovations
Tara Vanflower de Lycia y
Timothy Renner de Stone Breath dan vida a Black Happy Day. Estructuras
mínimas, hermosos juegos vocales a dos voces, incluso a tres ya
que Tara se dobla en ocasiones, drones para un folk renovador, así
podríamos definir la evocadora música de esta banda que graba
para Silber.
~ Mikel Herrero, Decadence
Online
Is country te combineren
met ambient en geluidsexperimenten? Luister naar Black Happy Day en kom
tot de ontdekking dat het kan. Het duo verdient alle lof voor deze gedurfde
combinatie, al luistert het resultaat niet altijd even makkelijk weg.
Black Happy Day is een duo,
bestaande uit Tara Vanflower en Timothy Renner. Ze wagen zich aan een bijzondere
combinatie. Country, vaak in de vorm van stokoude traditionals, wordt gecombineerd
met avant-gardistische geluidsexperimenten. Dat lijkt een wonderlijke combinatie
en zo klinkt het ook.
In the Garden of Ghostflowers
is een verstilde plaat en vooral een intrigerend experiment. Met reverb
doordrenkte gitaren, zachtjes zoemende feedback en tokkelende banjo’s schetsen
een spookachtige, mysterieuze sfeer. Toch zijn vooral de stemmen, met volop
galm en vaak met vele overdubs opgenomen, de belangrijkste instrumenten
van het duo. De samenzang tussen de twee totaal verschillende stemmen (Renner
heeft een zware bas en Vanflower beschikt over een engelachtig klinkende
stem) zorgt voor een bijna onaards sfeertje.
De nummers waarbij de country
de overhand heeft over het experiment zijn vaak het mooiste. Zo is de traditional
‘Edward’ een in vraag-antwoordvorm gegoten moordballad. Je hoort zachtjes
zoemende feedback en een zwaar vervormd tokkelende gitaar, terwijl de stemmen
van Renner en Vanflower elkaar op bijzondere wijze aanvullen. ‘Hand in
Hand’ is ook zo’n nummer: een even simpel als prachtig liefdesliedje, dat
een middeleeuws aandoende melodie combineert met een, voor de verandering
eens niét vervormde, akoestische gitaar.
Toch is niet alleen schoonheid
dat de klok slaat. Iets te vaak verliest het duo zich in een arty-farty
aanpak. De geluidsexperimenten slaan té vaak door in richtingloos
geneuzel en dat leidt de aandacht af van de schoonheid die wel degelijk
in hun muziek besloten ligt. Black Happy Day is daarom voornamelijk intrigerend
en bij enkele momenten wonderschoon.
~ Bart Breman, KindaMuzik
Un nome geniale. Una musica
folle!
Di tutto ciò che
ruota intorno al mondo Lycia aspetto con impazienza da diverso tempo il
CD (‘The Cataclysm’) di David Galas. Per ora non mi dispero, arriverà!
Come del resto del tutto inaspettata mi è giunta questa nuova release
di Tara VanFlower (cantante dei Lycia) nata in collaborazione con Timothy
Renner di Stone Breath.
Se sperate di imbattervi
in qualcosa di perlomeno accostabile al sound freddo e glaciale dei Lycia
i Black Happy Day vi deluderanno, poiché il duo americano si muove
in territori decisamente più accostabili ai dischi solisti di Tara
VanFlower che al grigiore di casa Van Portfleet. Dunque, troviamo una musica
ambient d’annata qualvolta imbastardita da divagazioni orientali (`Edward`)
e puntatine folkeggianti (‘Hand In Hand’) che fanno da sottofondo ai vocalizzi
estrosi di Tara nonché a quelli monotematici, opprimenti e gelidi
di Timothy. Da due artisti così talentuosi non poteva che nascere
un disco originale, ostico e a tratti sfiancante ricco di ballate oscure
capaci di imprigionare l’ascoltatore in una ragnatela psichedelica dove
accenti mistici ed onirici sfociano in un delirio lamentoso ed opprimente.
L’ascolto dei Black Happy Day è destabilizzante, assolutamente impegnativo
perché ‘In The Garden Of Ghostflowers’ è un trip, un viaggio
allucinogeno che offre il meglio di se nella sua parte finale (canzoni
8, 9 e 10) senza però sottovalutare l’acida e sognante title track
e la ritualistica ‘The Leaves Of Life’.
~ Alessandro Lucentini,
Kronic
Silber Records sigue encontrando
y promoviendo cosas interesantes. Dos músicos que ya están
en el sello, Tara Vanflower (Lycia y con entregas propias) y Timothy Renner
(Stone Breath) entregan un disco bastante interesante: una joya por lo
raro y novedoso.
Definitivamente no es para
todos los moods y para todo el público. La gente que disfruta de
trabajos más bien oscuros va a disfrutar esta música al máximo.
Arrancando con The Leaves
Of Life, que en momentos parece un canto religioso prácticamente
a base de efectos sobre la voz profunda de Reener a coro con Vanflower
quien agudiza a lo largo de varios tracks su voz para que el contraste
sea mayor… una misa que se antoja -he de decir- oscura.
In The Garden Of Ghostflowers,
continúa la fórmula, ahora ya con más instrumentos,
lo que alcanzo a reconocer como la Revelator-Guitar. Todavía oscuro
en mood y letras, pero con un toque de goth-folk si es que lo quieres clasificar
de alguna forma.
El ambient que en algún
momento ha manejado Lycia (que es la banda que sí he escuchado,
al igual que a Tara Vanflower) atisba en Whore, que sigue el mismo patrón
pero ahora en un track que arranca como tal, como ambient, como lo que
los músicos parece que les acomoda mejor.
De nuevo las cuerdas de
guitarras y banjos aparecen a la par que las voces en forma casi de lamentos
en un mood que parece un canto antiquísimo (de hecho es un track
tradicional, según el booklet) en Edward. Interesante, oscura y
melancólica. Buen track!
El sonido de caja de música
le da un toque, que dependiendo de tu estado de ánimo y sobre todo
al aparecer esa voz profunda de Renner, puede llegar a ser aterrador a
momentos, en Of The Wind… sin embargo es un track que puedes disfrutar,
de repente te da la sensación de alegre oscuridad que puede provocar
un trabajo de Tim Burton. Aquí es donde entendí el nombre
de la banda, y más si escuchas otros tracks que sí difieren
de lo escuchado hasta ahora. Pronto llegaremos a ellos. Aunque un buen
indicio bien puede ser la cortísima How They Weep… que aumenta el
beat, aunque con poco cambio en el mood.
Otro track tradicional,
arreglado por el dúo, y que sí se oye como tal, tradicional
y oscurísimo A Lyke Wake Dirge con un sonido oscurísimo agregado
por el banjo (saintbanjo?), se antoja parecido a Edward. How Many Hours…
repite y alarga la formula de tracks anteriores a unos 10 minutos en un
trance ambient interminable con los lamentos a todo lo que da. Igual que
en Wolf & Hare y los ooouuummmmm enmedio de las cascadas de agua en
lo que parece un ritual oscurísimo, más oscuro que pagano…
spooky con la voz tratada de Renner. Bueno para estas fechas.
Fuera del atractivo que
para muchos tendrá este disco tan oscuro, las dos piezas que disfruté
más (y como digo, aparte de descubrir esta rareza) son los tracks
más acústicos, menos ambient, y que se apartan de todo el
estilo del disco, y las mejores muestras se dan con los últimos
dos tracks, que como mencionaba antes, terminan por hacerte entender el
nombre de la banda: tracks alegres, dentro de lo que cabe, y dulces, en
especial Hand In Hand, otro track tradicional, el que más le agradezco
al dúo y el cierre excepcional de Be Thou My Vision.
Un disco diferente e, insisto,
no para todos. Si andas en la onda dark-goth y quieres probar algo distinto,
seguro que descubrirás algo nuevo con Black Happy Day.
~ Ciro Velazquez, Eufonia