CAROL OF HARVEST

A really nice record here. The sound is reminiscent of bands like Emtidi (Saat) or Holderlin (Holderlin's Traum/Hoelderlin). You get a similar feel, though there is more of a (prog) rock approach. It sounds like it came out of the early 70s too. The music is generally quite melodic, generally melancholic and or poignant, and contains common structural variations common in prog and instrumental sections and or solos as well as generally a very high level of musical skill. Beate Krause's vocals are beautiful and delicate yet confident and soulful."Put On Your Nightcap" is the best song here and is the most developed idea, with many parts and high quality musicianship and songwriting. My only complaint is that it ends randomly without any conclusion. It is a poignant and sorrowful song about war (it isn't ever graphic, you just have lyrics like "Who can decide when to love when to fight?" or "Preachers of god you have never understood" or the refrain "Close to the edge of the world"). The other four songs on this album sound a little unpolished songwriting-wise and for that reason sometimes sounding patchy or like unfinished or patched-together ideas. Those are my harshest criticisms. "You and Me" is a nice short upbeat song that concludes "side A". "Somewhere at the End of the Rainbow" is the most fully polished song on here and is a very nice melodic and meaty enough song (instrumentation/musicianship/songwriting-wise). "Treary Eyes" for me is the weakest track on here, though it is melodic and holds enough interest to get the listener across 4 minutes to the next song. The final song "Try a Little Bit" is a good one, with several very good parts, though it is slightly uneven in flow and quality. It is perhaps more ambitious than "Somewhere at the End of the Rainbow" but it is also more unfinished and less polished.

There are more than a few very good ideas in the three bonus tracks though they are not fully-formed songs, more like fragments or ideas, and they are played live and have a horrendous recording/sound at times. They are a nice addition and leave me wishing they recorded a second album.

This record is essential for fans of acid-folk of the 70's and the more melodic and melancholic sides of krautrock, and highly recommended to fans of progressive music, folk rock, and great female singing.