Reviews
Artist:Allysen Callery Album: Ghost Folk
Label: cosirecords
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.allysencallerymusic.com
There are a couple of artists recently that I've been introduced to via vinyl, Rhode Island resident, Allysen Callery being one of them, though others on the team have been luckier than I. There is something about an actual album landing on your doorstep, well carefully handed over by the postie, that almost compels you to head straight for the record and get it on the deck.
Working my way towards the lump of black plastic, I was momentarily distracted by the obligatory download code, which I put down somewhere and would subsequently spend the best part of thirty minutes looking (Is that a sign of age?) but no before being completely distracted by Allysen's most recent album, "Ghost Folk".
Like her most recent releases, "Ghost Folk" was released on a vinyl lead label based in Germany, though other releases include a limited edition EP on UK cult label Reverb Worship. Somewhere I seem to have missed those earlier cuts and fortunately there are soft copies of them on her Bandcamp. Similarly Allysen has spent a lot of time on this side of the pond, Mainly in Europe, she's recorded an album live in Paris, but she has spent time playing in the petulant child.
The album is dedicated to the November Man, also a track on the album, Nick Drake, and to all the quiet ones. It's no coincidence that the only cover on the album is "Go Your Way", an Annie Briggs' song and Annie was another artist that understood that you don't need volume to make yourself heard, particularly if you've got something to say. Apart from Callery's take on "Katie Cruel" a song about how reputations and adorations can turn on a sixpence, all of the rest of the album is penned by Allysen.
"Ghost Folk" is an album that revels in its simplicity, something that allows the songs to be infused with a real sense of drama. It's also an album that reflects shades, not all ghost stories are dark and nor are all folk songs, we just tend to focus on the dark ones.
Allysen Callery has delivered an album that's easy to enjoy, laid back in a chair, enjoying a glass of red, listening to ghost folk as opposed to ghost stories, a great way to pass the time and as for why the search became so important, it's still bloody difficult to play vinyl in the car.
Neil King
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