IN A GARDEN GREEN

While SOL INVICTUS is indisputably the neo folk project of one TONY WAKEFORD and his hand picked supporting characters, I am surprised at the continuity of feel between the two albums I've thoroughly aired from the 1990s, but then the lineup at this time was very stable. This coarsely slick amalgam achieves interconnections that even clear influences like BRIAN ENO (in the opening and closing numbers) and DAVID SYLVIAN (subtly throughout) couldn't have hoped for or perhaps even desired, particularly in the strings and winds so impressively whipped into the arrangements and both accentuating and grounding the Gothic atmosphere. Wakeford is perhaps to David Tibet what JAN DUKES DE GREY was to COMUS: leaning to the kooky to be sure but never quite as certifiable. Whether by design or not, it's what makes Sol Invictus more amiable as these things go, without being TGI Friday's hostess level to be sure.

The lyrics alone are characteristically direct, still splaying simple juxtapositions in preference to subtle symbolism, perhaps as a response to his somewhat fascist political past. The tunes tend to the highly repetitive, at times minimalistic, which has the successive effects of fascination, boredom and finally mystic trance, particularly in the miraculous "Song of the Flower", where the figures of flautist Sally Doherty buoy Wakeford's eerie chants. She also sings on a couple of other tracks, the best being "The Prairie's Song", which channels STEELEYE SPAN's occasional predilections for the macabre. The title cut is the longest, with a lengthy intro before Wakeford expounds upon the paradoxes of said garden as is his wont, and it's all the more revelatory as a result, but something a 5 year old could understand just before they are exorcised. As always, your own impression could be dampened by judging Wakeford's vocals according to any sort of logical standard.

An exemplarily consistent album with nothing even approaching a weak or throwaway track, "In a Garden Green" is of the sort that might well deserve classic status...I just need a bit more time to decide, but it's no wallflower for sure.