split c24
[2006, bone tooth horn]

i have no idea who this dude is, but out of these two artists, keep's side is probably more likely to have a broader appeal as it's straight-forward psych-drone. there's not very many changes to it, but the cohesiveness of the sound works to its advantage. there's some sporadic acoustic strumming happening over the top of multiple layers of pleasing drone and ambiance. it's doubtful that much of it will really stick out afterwards, but it's nice to listen to while it's playing.

new brunswick's own king darves' side is an excursion into mountain man folk music, with a few surprises thrown into the mix here and there, especially on the opener gone low. over what might be an accordian, darves' deep, rich, singing, which reminds me of calvin johnson, or michael gira (though far more listenable than gira's), is cut off abruptly or conjoined by the type of crackly distortion that you'd get if you blew back and forth into a microphone. the sudden stops and starts kill the continuity, but in a good way, i think. the rest of king darves' songs are stripped-bare folk tunes, sometimes aided by the sound of birds chirping.

if you're into real folk music, and not most of the garbage that currently passes as such, you'd dig what darves is doing under this name. there's a pure and earthy quality to the music that'll surely appeal to fans of the genre.

King Darves - Wild Mountain Thyme