Various - Bearded Ladies / A Kind Of Awe And Reverence And Wonder
[Finders Keepers / Twisted Nerve]

Bearded Ladies is the newest offering from Twisted Nerve’s Andy Votel, on the Finders Keepers label he runs with Dominic Thomas and Doug Shipton. Past releases from Finders Keepers have been a lazy crate-diggers quick fix, spanning soundtrack, folk and psychedelica from a multitude of international and local sources, satisfying the hunger for something obscure without having to trawl through hundreds of Cliff Richard LP’s.

A Kind Of Awe And Reverence And Wonder is this years Twisted Nerve showcase, packed with talented artists who seem permanently trapped in a parallel universe of anonymity. The general sound is geared a little more towards electronic and noisy folk ditties than 2005’s Now Is The Winter Of Our Discount Tents, immediately obvious at the opening bars of Toolshed’s percussion driven psyche-noise.

Lispector is present on both compilations. On Bearded Ladies her cotton mouthed vocals and the wobbly recording is a highlight, set in between the less accessible Turkish freakster Selda. On A Kind Of Awe And Reverence And Wonder Lispector feels more at home, nestled amongst Samandtheplants’ pots and pans approach and the makeshift electronics of Asteroid Power Up! The range centres around accessible noise noodlings or tinny guitars recorded on almost broken equipment - warped and wobbly tracks potter along on a not too kitsch brand of whimsy.

Bearded Ladies I feared would be far too bizarre to appreciate, when completely the opposite is true; the artists are varied and interesting without betraying traditional folk sensibilities. Label favourite Jane Weaver stands proudly in the shadows of British folk, whilst European folk traditions are paid homage to by Turid and Brigitte Fontaine.

Both albums are a pleasure, driven by a deep seated respect for folk music, be it contemporary - as represented by Voice Of The Seven Woods on A Kind Of Awe And Reverence And Wonder – or traditional – exemplified by Bearded Ladies.

Bearded Ladies Volume 1 Track Listing:

01. Speck Mountain - Hey-Moon
02. Wendy & Bonnie - Paisley Window Pane
03. Magpahi - Horses
04. Emma Tricca - Martin and Me
05. Selda - Gesi Baglari
06. Lispector - Peachtree Street
07. Bonnie Dobson - Milk & Honey
08. Turid - LŒt Mig Se Dig
09. Heather Jones - Coli Laith
10. Lights - Branches Low
11. Susan Christie - Rainy Day
12. Jane Weaver - All These Rivers
13. Brigitte Fontaine - Le Goudron
14. Heaven and Earth - Refuge
15. Cate Le Bon - Disappear

A Kind Of Awe And Reverence And Wonder Track Listing:

01. Toolshed - I Rooster II
02. Voice of the Seven Woods - If Luck Could Kill
03. Samandtheplants - Excerpt 12
04. All Traps Set - Short Of Water
05. Magpahi - To Sing With Joy From Out a Sorrowing Heart
06. Liftmen - Sad Tail
07. Lispector - The Game
08. Astroid Power-up! - Kaveh
09. Lights - Rise Up (live)
10. 9Bach - Pontypridd
11. Booger Red - Waiting By The Window
12. Speck Mountain - Chlorine Fields