DAVENPORT

— First review of this album —

Davenport Family were a collective of freak folks and psychedelic noise(unmerry)markers that hail from the Madison, Wisconsin, USA areas' underground noise/psych scene. Davenport Family (DF from now on) carry on in the tradition of the first Amon Duul, Ya Ho Wha 13, Siloah, Zendik Community, etc. That is to say, making loose, krautrock inflicted, improvised and primitive free folk/psych/rock of the utmost heathenistic variety and quality, minus the cult aspects of Father Yod and Zendik, and more of the 'light up a campfire and start clunking and clogging away on whatever instrument you have on hand'. It's safe to assume most DF releases were recorded outdoors, in barns or some such other place. This applies to the community gathering only however, don't let my description of campfire gatherings and B.Y.O. instruments lead you into thinking this is going to be a summer of love, peace dude, hippie affair. DF's brand of communal folk freakery often times doesn't merely flirt and toy with undercurrents of darkness, but fully embrace them. Though DF aren't as dark, think of the similarly minded collective from Belgium, Silvester Anfang and their self-styled 'Funeral Folk'. This final offering from Davenport Family, before changing name to Second Family Band, and continuing on in the same manner, offers a magnificent send off.

The nearly 33 minute jam that is At the Foot of Zodiac Mountain starts out life slowly at first. Electronics, guitar and vocals queasily and darkly groan away, often drenched in reverb and various effects. While drums and various percussion freely thump and clang, sparse and distant, before gaining momentum and tribalistic rhythm, rising in intensity against the backdrop, which has turned into a frenzy of buzzing and thrumming, feedback and noise, before falling apart and re-congealing into the void-like morass. This presents itself as a cycle, that of lysergy, slowly building into uncouth paganist noise, but upon the feverish plateau being reached, the tribal percussives, cracked and moaning guitars and electronics, whooping and hollering, everything inevitably and slowly slides back into abyss of zonked out and evilly twinkling sparsity. By the time the final recorded cycle has spasmed out into the darkness, you'll want to join in (or you stopped listening 5 minutes in cause you hated this wonderful mess, fair play).

I unashamedly love these communal groups who jam out wild, percussive, psych freak outs, and this dark and gloamy, paint spattered little cassette offering sits at the top of this niche pile.

DAVENPORT aka THE DAVENPORT FAMILY seem to exist in their own enclave - well, just a 'Free Country', located somewhere in Wisconsin/USA. Since 2002 mastermind Clay Ruby is gathering different people to a musical collective and records way out songs which are best to describe as acid kraut/folk most likely. They initially offered some private CD-R and cassette productions in small runs of limited availability. Exhanced with some bonus tracks this first official band album, released on Last Visible Dog Records in 2005, is reported to be a reissue of an early CD-R.

You're invited to a trip featuring a wide range of instruments, but with the result of minimalistic ritually meandering songs. A blend of space, trance, folk and ethno which probably has its roots in 70's krautrock. Although coming from different ages, musically DAVENPORT can be compared to YA HO WHA 13 in some way, a hippie commune which had a spiritual leader ... or guru if you will. Mostly such collectives offer a sound which is deeply inspired by indo/raga and eastern religions - but that's not the case here apparently, this influence is (nearly) missing.

And so let's start with the exception, they use sitar drones here and there, which is not really bothersome though. Backed by this the opener Joy! By numerals act is faded in, music adapted in order to wake you up in the morning with care. Birds twitter ... sunbeams crawl through the window ... some time later the muezzin starts to pray respectively sing ... bells, glockenspiel, flute, accentuated bass and guitar - they serve a wonderful relaxed atmosphere which finally converts to indian native chanting. Country western ambience (acoustic guitar and violin) is following coupled with a somewhat mysterious unemotional singing. What gave them that idea?

Some noise and percussion stuff serves a druggy mood on The Light Ahead, The Dead Fields Behind - the extraterrestrial vocals however are the real attraction. The attribut cosmic can be really assigned to the title track for the first time - so that means the spacey electric guitars, the repetitive violin chords, the gliding trance flow all in all. Not all the songs appeal to me, for example I've problems with The Fool's Organ which seems to be recorded with a drum machine ... and the organ sounds so kitschy (foolish?) in some way. But probably it only takes more time before it clicks, eh? The plain folky Talking on the rails is another candidate for a filler.

With an intriguing spacey behaviour Psychedelic Underground brings them back to the top then, to highlight the fantastic guitar input first of all. So this comes to the conclusion that you can enjoy atmosphere here mainly, in opposite to endless uninspired noodling ... okay, as far as you are courageous enough to get involved with DAVENPORT's attitude. As for the weird experimental approach 'Sunburned Hand Of The Man' come into my mind additionally - 3.5 stars all in all.