Customer Reviews

School of the Flower

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Truly a head trip of an album. Vivid acoustic melodies repeat on end, sent adrift through dense layers of ambient drones and rolling freeform drums as overdriven squalls of electric guitar erupt haphazardly throughout. Acoustic plucking serves to anchor each of the tracks, providing the listener something familiar to latch on and cling too as otherworldly soundscapes roll in and threaten to wipe out any traditional song elements. In terms of psychedelic presentation, this stuff works to wonderful effect. A few of the tracks are more traditional folk numbers, that though not quite as interesting as the others, provide nice reprieve, with Ben Chasny's (aka Six Organs of Admittance) own sublime vocals supplying much needed human contact. All together, this makes for beautiful, ominous, and assuredly psychedelic folk rock that doesn't require any hallucinogenic supplements to be enjoyed, though that's not to say that they might not be warranted under the right circumstances ;).

At times trance-like Western ragas, if you will -particularly in "Procession of Cherry Blossom Spirits"- and then simply gorgeous folk -"Lisboa"- which can also erupt into furious electric interludes -"School Of The Flower"- or be enriched with great vocals, like "Thicker Than A Smokey."
It is not that easy to describe, nor are Chasny's influences that obvious. I guess this is what happens when someone ventures and succeeds at making original music.
If I were to name other people, for the sake of reference, John Fahey would come to mind, yet not so much due to a similar guitar style but because of a common gift for conjuring up a powerful spirit.
All in all, an authentic and imaginative new sound, music -thinking of this album's title- that is definitely schooled in the wildness and beauty of flowers.

I don't usually go for contemporary folk music. That term itself, "folk music," conjures up images of oh-so-sensitive and self-important, delicate artistes. Lame hippy crap in the same bland mold as Dave Matthews, minus the big budget and slick production, that clings to some simple-minded notion of "purity" by virtue of the fact that it's just one painfully earnest dude with an acoustic guitar. To most of these types I'm inclined to say, "Dylan, Goodman or Prine you ain't; get off my lawn and go take a bath."

But this, this is something altogether different. Initial listenings sounded like a cool juxtaposition of fingerpicked acoustic guitar and electronic white noise. While that juxtaposition remains central to my interest in "School of the Flower," it grabbed me upon closer inspection how well this guy does both elements. No matter how harsh and grating the noise gets, it never overwhelms the record's peaceful heart; no matter how reassuring the acoustic sounds the noise is never too far away. I've really never heard anything quite like it: at its noisiest, "School of the Flower" posesses an unruffled placididity that evinces a Buddhist sense of detachment in spite of its own internal distractions. Plus, I like the way the vocals are pushed down in the mix and heavily echoed on some songs.

Definitely refined from early works, but I still always long for all-instrumental with this wise strummer, here coming at the expense of less hippie-dippy, still surface-level vocalizations.

In his song "The Beatles", Devendra Banhart sings:

RickiTickiTicki Canta el Troubador
Como la flor mas gorda que no tiene sabor
Que rica es la vida que rico es el amor
Mata el Toro no mates al toreador

Yo si oigo a Donovan
Yo si oigo a Marc Bolan
Yo si oigo a Ben Chasny
Six Organs me gusta a mi

Marc Bolan and Donovan are pretty obvious Banhart influences. Don't know where I've been, but up until I heard Banhart's song, I'd never heard of Ben Chasny/Six Organs. Great stuff, and yes, stylistically similar to Banhart.

If you like Banhart and Six Organs, chances are you'd like Jesse Poe and his project Tanakh. Same type of quiet and sometimes droned out trippy neo folk.

As an aside, I'll take the opportunity to give a shoutout to my amazon friend Juan Mobili who I keep running across time and again as our musical tastes keep crossing paths.