E.P. Hall
(IFF-Transponder)
Like its title, there's something both comforting and chilling about the gothic folk debut from this Bloomington, Indiana-based duo. Built primarily around Elise Percy's haunting voice, plucked acoustic guitar, rattling percussion and occasional synth twists, Mommy Crow's metaphor-rife narratives and psychological preoccupations (Percy is a PhD student) would work well as accompaniment for late-night cemetery visits or a fire-side soundtrack.
Tracks like the cello-washed "Gone Are the Thoughts of Sparrows" and "The Shade" recall vintage (acoustic-based) Throwing Muses; Percy even stretches her whispered vowels into anguished yowls like Kristen Hersh. Andy Goheen's percussion also morphs from traditional shuffles and beats to clattering accents on the title track and "Churchyard," creating off-kilter contrasts that suit the melodies' diminished chords. Some of the best songs eschew or downplay the finger-plucked formula for more epic and widescreen effects: 90 seconds into opener "The Emperor's Note" an explosion of electric guitars, percussion and synths morph the song from folky fare to cathartic rock-out; the percussive 12-string strumming on "Water Tower" provides nice depth, as do the burbling synths and bird-calls of "The White Bird, In Springtime"; and the reverb-delay and guitar effects on "Ladders & Mirrors" (the most Muses-like track of all) add another welcome dimension.
These accents are so effective, and given that a couple of the finger-plucked drones drag a little, one hopes that future E.P. Hall recordings will include even more of these subtle, yet essential, additions. It's those contrasts that best display Percy's compellingly creepy melodies.
Standout Tracks: "The Emperor's Note," "Water Tower" JOHN SCHACHT
