Beyond Incredible String Band: Seven Songs by Mike Heron
Mike Heron went his own way to take a holiday from Incredible String Band, known for its folk roots, and experimented with rock. Here are seven of his best songs.
psychedelic folk
In the Aeroplane Over the Meme with Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel’s ambiguous 1988 album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, suffered a memeified atrocity. But the tides of public opinion rise and fall, and memes come and go.
‘The Collected Works of Neutral Milk Hotel’ Are Newly Re-Issued
Essentially a re-issue of a 2011 box set with Neutral Milk Hotel’s recorded work, their legacy remains unparalleled even if there’s not much new to exhume.
If ‘Shufflemania!’ Isn’t Robyn Hitchcock’s Best Album, It’s Certainly One of His Best
Concepts like “consistency” and “quality” are relative, but a new album from Robyn Hitchcock is always a good reminder of what’s truly “great”, and Shufflemania! is no exception.
What Was So Incredible About Incredible String Band?
What was it about the humble Scottish folk group Incredible String Band that moved the Beatles, David Bowie, and even the Archbishop of Canterbury?
Robyn Hitchcock’s Remote Concert “Live from Tubby’s House” Lifts the Spirits
The last live performance I saw before the pandemic shutdown was Robyn Hitchcock. Watching his remote concert from my bed, I can say I enjoyed it just as much.
Lorde Misses the Mark with the Highly-Anticipated ‘Solar Power’
Lorde’s Solar Power is a disorganized, hackneyed collection that doesn’t deepen her existing body of work but introduces a woman riddled with white privilege.
Satomimagae’s ‘Hanazono’ Is Full of Organic, Melancholy Folk
Like nature itself, Satomimagae’s Hanazono is by turns stormy and serene indie folk, as meditative as it is simmering with dormant, primal power.
Jane Weaver’s ‘ Flock’ Is a Virtuosic Tour de Force
Jane Weaver’s ‘Flock’ is perfectly complete, hermetically sealed while suggesting any number of influences and reference points that never usurp the originality of the songs themselves.
Pearl Charles Embraces Her Influences on ‘Magic Mirror’
Pearl Charles' art doesn't offer easy resolutions to internal or external crises on Magic Mirror, but as she works through her ideas, she leads us to somewhere better.
Woods Explore Darkness on ‘Strange to Explain’
Folk rock's Woods create a superb new album, Strange to Explain, that mines the subconscious in search of answers to life's unsettling realities.
Rustin Man’s ‘Clockdust’ Is Woozy Psych-Folk of Arresting and Fathomless Beauty
Arriving less than a year after Drift Code, Rustin Man consolidates a rich vein of form with the sepia-toned Clockdust, an autumnal record rendered generous and exquisite by each song's emotional weight.