After World War Three, and a great geological upheaval on the Earth, mankind becomes extinct, and the animals take over once more: the birds, the deer, the cows, the ants, and a creature named Loki, who rises among them, and proceeds to manipulate them with his “magic.” It’s not the stuff of a lost 1970’s Ralph Bakshi animated film, but the tale which supports the third album by Folklore, the psych/folk/rock band fronted by Elf Power guitarist Jimmy Hughes. An exceptionally gifted songwriter, Hughes writes concept albums that are reminiscent of the approach taken by the Kinks (think Arthur and Lola Versus Powerman), which shouldn’t be too big of a surprise since Folklore once performed the entirety of The Village Green Preservation Society live. The band’s latest album, in both its story and pop inclinations, also recalls Masters of the Hemisphere’s cult hit I Am Not a Freemdoom (Hughes released a MOTH live album, Last Show Ever, on his homegrown label BumbleBEAR Records many years back). This one’s quite a bit darker, though: Home Church Road follows the cyclical nature of civilizations; animals replace the human race, but quickly start upon their own path to destruction.

To discuss only the album’s story, however, would be doing a disservice to what really distinguishes Folklore’s music: killer hooks buffeted by a plethora of talented musicians (the lineup here includes 12 band members, as well as additional guest musicians), corralled into the Folklore fold – in this case, drawing from Athens and Philadelphia – and delivering upon a variety of styles, from the laid-back country of “Empty Houses,” to the mesmerizing, sitar-driven psychedelia of “The Ants,” to the raucous rock-and-roll of “The Party.”  The culmination is an album which lives up to the band’s very strong debut The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman; that one drew heavily from Hughes’ friends in the Elephant 6 collective, but the latest finds him setting upon his own path and defining Folklore’s voice with greater confidence.  Home Church Road is distinctive, but for me it’s also something of a nostalgic listen: in the late 90’s and early years of the last decade, it wouldn’t be quite so unusual to get an indie album this effortlessly ambitious from Athens, but recently these kind of records seem a little more rare and valuable. 

Have a listen to “The Party” below.  The album is completed but release details will follow, hopefully soon.

Folklore – The Party

Over the last couple of years, perhaps the only E6 parlor game more popular than “when will that second Circulatory System album come out?” (followed rapidly by “when will that Circulatory System bonus LP come out?”) is “when will the Major Organ and the Adding Machine DVD/Expanded CD come out?”  But, honestly, the great thing about Elephant 6 is that they usually make it worth the long wait (and those gaps are filled with so many of Montreal and Robert Schneider-related releases that the wait doesn’t really matter all that much).  Anyway, at long last the Major Organ and the Adding Machine re-release has been announced, but first a history: the 2001 album was one of the flagship releases of the Athens-based Orange Twin Records label, draped in the E6 logo and featuring an all-star cast from the E6-East universe, though none of them were named on the album.  (Nonetheless, it was pretty easy to recognize that prominent members of Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Music Tapes, of Montreal, and Elf Power were contributing.)  The CD drifted out of print, though the LP remained generally available.  Although initial reviews of the concept album – a harrowing mix of avant-garde sound collages and psych-rock – were mixed, with some being very harsh, over the past nine years it has deservedly developed wider admiration and the requisite cult following.  For the 2008 Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise tour, Eric Harris  (OTC, Elf Power)  would begin each evening’s program with a screening of the Major Organ and the Adding Machine short film, which he co-directed with Joey Foreman: a years-in-the-works cross between music video and experimental children’s fantasy, telling the story of Madam Truffle, a bunch of people with beards, a giant lobster, and, um, other things that happen.  (It’s all great fun.)  A DVD was announced and then postponed, and postponed, and postponed again.

Now Pitchfork has announced the real deal: on September 14, Orange Twin Records will release the deluxe Major Organ and the Adding Machine reissue, which will feature the complete album plus seven bonus tracks, bundled with a DVD of the film and bonus features such as music videos, live footage, and other E6-related projects, perhaps some of which were featured in the Eric Harris-curated E6 film program which screened last year in Athens.

Conclusion: Viva Francisco! (Thanks to Kathy with a K for the head’s-up.)

 

Elf Power has been one of the most prolific members of the Elephant 6 collective, but after sixteen years of existence and umpteen releases, they are about to complete a new rite of passage: their first eponymous album.  Elf Power, by Elf Power, will be released September 14, 2010, on Orange Twin Records, with contributions from band members Andrew Rieger, Jimmy Hughes, Derek Almstead, Eric Harris, and Laura Carter, along with guests Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, and John Fernandes  (The Olivia Tremor Control), as well as Heather McIntosh (Circulatory System).  The album will be dedicated to the memory of the late and great Vic Chesnutt, with whom Elf Power toured and completed a collaborative album called Dark Developments.  You can read the full press release here.

Elf Power’s guitarist Jimmy Hughes fronts Folklore, and the band is hitting the road beginning this Saturday.  Their third album, Home Church Road, is due out soon after a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds.  If you live in one of these towns, come out and support them!

Folklore Tour Dates

6/12/10 – Cleveland, OH @ Cranky’s w/ The Bears Of Blue River, Afternoon Naps
6/13/10 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s w/ The Bears Of Blue River, Poison Control Center
6/14/10 – Madison, WI @ The Project Lodge w/ The Bears Of Blue River
6/15/10 – Kalamazoo, MI @ No Fun House w/ The Bears Of Blue River
6/16/10 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop w/ The Bears Of Blue River, The Calumet Reel
6/17/10 – State College, PA @ Chronic Town
6/18/10 – New York, NY @ Pianos w/ Poison Control Center, Great Lakes
6/19/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ The M Room w/ Poison Control Center, Music For Headphones

Mike McGonigal, editor of YETI Magazine (which, a few years back, had an issue co-curated by Jeff Mangum), has initiated a new Portland, OR-based record label entitled Social Music Records and Tapes. To kick off the label, McGonigal has announced a new LP record club (details of which can be found here), and has dropped info on other upcoming LP and tape releases including a vinyl issue of Jeff Mangum’s Orange Twin Field Works Vol. 1, in a new “expanded” edition.  The LP, a co-release with Mississippi Records, does not yet have a firm release date.  The original CD, which features field recordings taken by Jeff Mangum at the Koprivshtitsa Festival in Bulgaria in 2000,  is still available from Orange Twin Records.  More info on Social Records can be found at their website.

Today Orange Twin artist Madeline kicks off a tour which will guide her throughout the South and Southwest, in conjunction with the vinyl and digital release of the Madeline Tour EP, to be released by Orange Twin Records on March 4th. The EP, previously a tour-only release (as you probably figured out for yourself), features appearances by members of Architecture in Helsinki and Mt. Eerie. A sampling, as well as tour dates, follow:

Madeline – I Waited All Day

Madeline Tour Dates

2/26 – Gainesville, Fl. @ The Atlantic
2/27 – Tallahassee, Fl. @ Fresh Face Fest
3/4 – Athens, Ga. @ Little Kings
3/5 – Birmingham, Al. @ Spring Street Fire House (7 p.m. All ages)
3/7 – Pensacola, Fl. @ Sluggo’s
3/8 – Baton Rouge, La. @ All Ages outdoor Party
(email andytgibbs@gmail.com for more info)
3/9 – Denton, Texas @ Rubber Gloves
3/10 – Dallas, Texas @ The Amsterdam Bar w/ Little Birds
3/11 – Austin, Texas @ Momo’s w/ Geoff Reacher (All Ages)
3/12 – Lafayette, La. @ Artmosphere
3/13 – New Orleans, La. @ AllWays Lounge

Check out The Superions on MySpace for more videos and streaming music!