MOULETTES

1. "Behemooth" (4:07) very cool low strings opening followed by old radio clip of man talking about the "monsters" of Nature. The band kicks in, in full song development, with Hannah in the lead vocals. It's quite a little heavier than what I might have expected--conjuring up comparisons to some of QUEEN's more aggressive and angular pieces--especially with the big voice choral chorus and instrumental jags between. (8.666667/10) 2. "UnderWaterPainter" (3:22) such an unusual sound palette with covering a BRITNEY SPEARS-like song style. Rated up for the fact that it has several earworm riffs that stick with you. (8.75/10)

3. "Coral" (4:13) sounding like a cross of LORDE and TOM TOM CLUB. (8.75/10)

4. "Hidden World (Halicephalobus Mephisto)" (4:47) Hannah singing in her smoothest voice inside a reverb cave of fairy dust and leprechaun percussives. At the two minute mark the music goes tip hop/Massive Attack. Impressive sound imagining--on a par with Björk. (9/10)

5. "Pufferfish Love" (4:57) more rhythm-focused techno pop music with Hannah with her calm voice in the lead vocal position. Cool music. Much more pop oriented and smooth than I was expecting from HMoule & Company. (9/10)

6. "Patterns" (3:43) more techno-New Wave drums cello, bassoon with interesting JANE SIBERRY-like vocal weaves over the top. For some reason I'm also reminded of Canada's GANG OF FOUR. (8.75/10)

7. "Rite Of Passage" (3:41) now these are the complex quirky multi-voiced vocal arrangements I was expecting. (8.875/10)

8. "Medusa" (3:51) more LORDE-like vocals over some music that reminds me more of DEAD CAN DANCE. Gorgeous, inventive, and refreshing. (8.875/10)

9. "Parasite" (3:39) another odd but interesting and creative pairing of instruments: bowed double bass, 1980s techno-New Wave drums, BRITNEY SPEARS' "Toxic"-like. (8.66667/10)

10. "Bird Of Paradise (Part II)" (3:38) some nice vocal arrangements set to more QUEEN-like music. (8.666667/10)

11. "Silk" (4:46) KATE BUSH musical creativity with Katharine Blake's MEDIÆVAL BÆBES' vocal sass, skills and sensibilities. (9/10)

Total time 44:44

Not as proggy as I was hoping but very high quality songwriting and even higher quality sound rendering. Even the lyrics are of a very high level--and you know how impervious I am to words and their meanings when they are sung or put into verse.

B/four stars; an excellent, highly creative pop-crossover album--one to fit into the realm of bands coming from modern youth such as Bent Knee, iNFiNiEN, and even black midi.

1. "Sing Unto Me" (4:53) immediately noticeable is the expanded lineup--as well as the far more prominent and continuous presence of multiple male voices within the vocal weave. (8.75/10)

2. "Country Joy" (3:33) a guitar-based song with delicate and precise female vocals for the verses, bull band chorale representation in the choruses. Great performances from the guitar, mandolin, banjo and female vocalists. (9/10) 3. "Uca's Dance" (4:21) amazing violin performance on an amazing song (string quartet with drums and many voices). (10/10)

4. "Some Who You Love" (7:25) tick-tock of a grandfather clock is soon joined by plucked muted cello and violin and then lead and background harmonized vocals. Gorgeous sound. Once again I am reminded of MEDIÆVAL BÆBES-- especially their 2012-13 incarnation. An absolutely beautifully paced, constructed, and engineered song. Another stellar display of violin play. Can Prog Folk get any better than this? (14.5/15)

5. "Revenge Of The Bear" (1:58) strings, bassoon and flutes building up to a frenzy before settling into a little "classical"-like control. (4.5/5)

6. "Songbird" (4:11) guitar and female alto vocal opens in a very old-fashioned 1970s-like folk fashion. Background female vocals join in at 0:40 for the chorus, violin in the second. A Vaughan-Williams-like lark-like violin soars in instrumental passage before third verse. What a beautiful vocal weave. Pure folk perfection. (9.25/10)

7. "Muse Has Wings" (3:42) banjo and Hannah in the lead with smooth, more traditional choral background vocals. Other instruments (like violin, hand percussions, clapping) join in at various points during the song. The vocal weave does begin to unfold so that the final third sounds very much like an old-time ANDREWS SISTERS performance. (9/10)

8. "Unlock The Doors" (4:56) much more aggressive, proggy soundscape and emotion open this song through the instrumental first minute. Voices and clapping enter, totally arranged like an Andrews Sisters style. Male voices join in during the chorus. Violin and bassoon stand out during the instrumental bridges. Great musicianship and composition; not my favorite melody or form. (8.75/10)

9. "Half-Remembered Song" (4:54) a bluesy 1940s Haarlem feel to this one. I'd almost expect Billie Holliday to be standing at the microphone in a smoke-filled jazz hall singing this one. I absolutely love the sudden switch in the back ground weave at 3:50--tossing an almost-Russian element into the song. (8.75/10)

10. "Grumpelstiltskin's Jig" (3:31) cello warms up before launching the band into a traditional sounding contra dance. Violin and flutes trade the lead through the first half, but then it gets dark and dreary in the middle "intermission." Again I feel as if I'm being immersed into some very dark Eastern European musical traditions. Luckily, it returns to the upbeat jig for the final minute. (8.5/10)

11. "Circle Song" (5:05) sounding much more like a Moulettes song--like the shantie styles of their first album: the presentation and arrangements are just more theatric than the more "traditional" forms, the lyrics more intellectual and multi-dimensional. (9/10)

12. "Blood And Thunder" (8:01) opening with some mood-setting effects and sounds, the musical palette is almost bluegrass before the vocals enter. Effects used on the vocals reveal an attempt to tell a kind of detective mystery. Again, this is The Moulettes at their finest. Banjo and squealing violin are quite prominent trhougout as the vocals and effects give this quite a familiar MEDIÆVAL BÆBES feel. (13.5/15)

Total time 56:30

The sound engineering on this album is so phenomenal that it just feels like such a treat to be allowed to be present among these musicians (for that is truly the feeling of the headphones experience). While many of the songs represented here are absolutely stunning creations, I feel that the album is a bit too scattered in its sounds and styles. On their debut, The Moulettes established a kind of forma and style that now feels like their truest style, the sound that is their destiny, but here the band tries to "branch out" into other, often simpler styles--which, to my mind, is almost demeaning to the potentialities of this creative crew. I like it much better when The Moulettes are The Moulettes for there is now one else out there like them, no music so fascinating and impressive. While mega kudos are again in order for Hannah and the gang's creative arrangements and precision performances, I'd like to add a special shout out to violinist/violist Georgina Leach for her meteoric rise in confidence and virtuosity.

A-/five stars; a masterpiece of Prog Folk music and a highly recommended addition to any prog lover's music collection. This band may be the finest Prog Folk band I've ever heard.

1. "Recipe For Alchemy" (2:57) is this jazz, cabaret, or folk music? It's definitely got an old, traditional, theatric feel to it. The instrumental and vocal performances are so tight, so intricate, and performed with such smooth precision! And the arrangements are so fresh! I'm quite stunned. If I were a lyrics guy I'd probably be even more blown away. (9/10)

2. "Cannibal Song" (3:28) another rollicking sea-shanty like composition. (8.5/10)

3. "Wilderness" (3:29) multiple cellos actively playing beneath intricately harmonized vocals. (8.75/10)

4. "Devil Of Mine" (6:17) intricate mutli-voiced harmonies dramatically singing/telling a story with chamber strings weaving beneath. Wow! What an intricate arrangement! (check out the wild choreographed video on YouTube!) (8.75/10)

5. "Horses For Hearses" (3:01) the first song whose arrangement falls a little flat (or, perhaps more accurately, fails to live up the the standards established by the previous songs). (8.5/10)

6. "What A Way To Spend A Day" (5:13) opens with solo cello playing something sad and ponderous. Joined by a second cello, and then violin and field military snare drum, it takes 75 seconds to establish the foundation for this one. The vocals, once entered, are very interesting for their gradual and sometimes weaves--and for the "open" chorale chorus (like they're in a bar). Such a dramatic song. What creative vision! (9.25/10)

7. "Requiem" (feat. Emma Richardson [Band Of Skulls]) (6:46) opens with solo cello before morphing into a brilliantly arranged mood-setting 100 seconds of syncopated patterning. When the surprisingly smooth MEDIÆVAL BÆBES- like vocals enter, their story is clear while it is the instruments that tell the more interesting story. There is a shift in the fourth minute before solo vocalist Emma Richardson takes the lead. Her voice seems much more "normal" mundane than the choir-like crystalline voices of Hannah and Ruth (who continue to dazzle in their background harmonizing capacity). The bassoon is a cool addition. There is another shift for the instrumental section in the fifth minute--which meanders and morphs in several directions over the sixth and seventh minutes before the chorus of voices enters for the "big finish." Great song! (14/15)

8. "Talisman" (4:06) a jazzed up sea shanty. (8.75/10)

9. "Bloodshed In The Woodshed" (feat. Modernaire) (4:50) a theatric song of female love spurned or scorned--and the vengeful thoughts and actions thereafter. Part expression of anger and injustice, part sympathetic dirge. What genius! What talent! (9.25/10) - 94.25

10. "Going A' Gathering" - silence - "untitled song" (11:29) this is not really an eleven and a half minutes long prog epic, it's more like two normal folk pop songs joined by a long gap of silence. The first (4:35) sounds more like THE ANDREWS SISTERS than any other song on this album--making it once of the more brilliant vocal performances on an album full of breathtaking vocal performances. (9/10) Then there is three and a half minutes of silence before sounds of a couple members of the band picking up their instruments and then starting to play a slow sad song with hannah singing the plaintive lead while Ruth vocalises "ooo"s in the background with two cellos and a violin. (8.5/10)

Video - "Devil Of Mine" - awesome! Well worth checking out.

Total time 48:34

While this is not my favorite kind of music or folk music, I definitely and fully appreciate the talent in composition, vision, and performance that it takes to pull together songs like these! The vocal arrangements and performances are alone worthy of raves and adulation--are reminiscent of by-gone days and groups like The Andrews Sisters. Mega kudos Hannah and Ruth! Bravo!

B+/4.5stars; while this may not be a masterpiece of progressive rock music, it is definitely a masterpiece of progressive folk music! So, perhaps not the essential choice for all prog music lovers, I would definitely consider this essential listening to all lovers of folk and Prog Folk music.