The Owl Service
Album: Garland Sessions
Label: Stone Tape
Tracks: 19
Website: http://www.last.fm/music/The+Owl+Service

"Garland Sessions" isn't so much a new Owl Service album, more a glorious festival of song curated by the band. The title of the opening track sets the scene, "Folk Revival (A Festival Of Song)" serves in the role of compere before raising the curtains on an extraordinary album packed with a whole host of singers and musicians from the alt.folk and psyche folk movement. Too many to name check individually here, I'll leave you that task as a small piece of homework, with a serious recommendation that you do it sooner, rather than later. That said you will find names there that you are less familiar with, but that's the nature of this beast.

It's a similar story with the songs. There are those that you've heard from many different artists, "Two Magicians", "Katie Cruel", "Corn Dollies" and "Flanders Shore" being fine examples, but these are healthily mixed with songs that get (undeservedly) less outings, "The Dorset Hanging Oak", "A Lyke Wake Dirge" and "The Gardner's Child" for example.

I don't know if the guests got to choose their song, or if it was down to a selection from the Owl Service, the way the whole fits together, I suspect the latter. Either way it doesn't matter, because although the nineteen tracks on the album definitely trends towards the darkness it does so with a real panache.

The album is more electric than I expected from both Owl Service and the guests, but that's no bad thing because they've folded them in like eggs into a rich cake mix, with a result that is highly fulfilling. Likewise it's also worth drawing attention to the pace of the album, alternately skipping and dancing through before dropping down to a more sedate walking pace, as mentioned previously it's been incredibly well curated.

"The Garland Sessions" really is a folk album all those involved with can be proud of, not only is it a great showcase for the artists, it's a great showcase for folk music, Owl Service, take a well deserved bow.

Neil King