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I’ve never tried to mask my unbridled desire for the Jewelled Antler Collective - these San Francisco-based forest dwellers have managed to do something quite magical in them there woods, and make psychedelic folk music (free folk, new weird America, whatever) sound simply irresistible. I don’t know what it is really, maybe it’s the guiding hand of Thuja-member and founder of the whole thing Loren Chasse, who appears here as the spiritual frontman of Softwar. Also along for the ride are Jewelled Antler regular Christine Boepple with Kerry McLaughlin and Geoff Koops the Franciscan Hobbies who together manage to make an unpredictably intriguing outré folk racket. Softwar feels like a natural progression for these musicians, at some times sounding like a more structured Thuja or a less medieval Franciscan Hobbies, the four musicians are obviously at ease with each other’s skills and let the tracks build organically. The usual tape-saturated scuffling noises and drifting guitar tunings are intact, but we hear the introduction of Kerry McLaughlin’s voice echoing hauntingly over the top. Like a Dictaphone-recorded Islaja or a really very quiet Kathleen Hanna accompanied by psychedelic instrumentation (maybe) this is without a doubt the axel upon which this record turns, giving a foundation for the other members to improvise around. Skip straight to ‘The Softwar’ for the perfect example of this, although the backing sounds strangely like Boards of Canada the inclusion of McLaughlin’s voice gives the track a hazy sense of off-world pop which makes it irresistibly appealing. There is a soothing quality to Softwar, a quality that I can’t say I’ve heard in previous Jewelled Antler related releases; listening to this album is like succumbing to the caress of a dream while having wordless whispers uttered emotionlessly in your ear. It’s quite stunningly beautiful, but you’re left wondering why - and that mystery is the key to Softwar’s inexplicable beauty. An incredible piece of work, and another key part in the Digitalis puzzle - just buy it! |
