| Wovenhand ≡ The Laughing Stalk (2012) |
Wovenhand — The Laughing Stalk
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
Album release: September 7th, 2012
Record Label: Sounds Familyre (US)/Glitterhouse Records
Duration: 42:53
Tracks:
1. Long Horn 4:56
2. The Laughing Stalk 5:02
3. In the Temple 5:14
4. King O King 4:18
5. Closer 3:18
6. Maize 4:06
7. Coup Stick 4:28
8. As Wool 5:42
9. Glistening Black 5:48
Members:
• David Eugene Edwards
• Ordy Garrison
• Pascal Humbert
Past members:
• Daniel McMahon
• Paul Fonfara
• Shane Trost
• Peter Van Laerhoven
Notes:
• Vinyl with bonus CD, insert and limited edition (2000 pcs.) hand-printed letterpress poster.
Website: http://wovenhandmosaic.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/wovenhand
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wovenhand-official/189495264425563
• Katrin Kropf September 4, 2012
• With the release of a best-of output in late 2011 and a live CD earlier this year it already looked a bit like America’s finest alt-country outfit WOVENHAND (also spelled like WOVEN HAND) is slowly running out of ideas. But this is far from the truth. It is more like after ten years of WOVENHAND that its band boss David Eugene Edwards (DEE) is ready to close a chapter and open a new one – and voilá, there it is now: A new blasting WOVENHAND album called The Laughing Stalk, heavier than anything else that escaped the biblical-tinged feather of this Americana mastermind during the last decade. And of course again the lyrics are inspired by the old and new testament, but even if you are not a theologist and/or practicing Christian you will soon realize that those words dig deeper into mankind’s weaknesses and are more universal than you might instantly think. WOVENHAND‘s lyrics here talk of loss and suffering but also of purity, joy and the rare moments of blessedness – as they always did.
• So what changed with album number seven? First it might be important to say that only DEE and drummer Ordy Garrison remained from the original lineup and a fresh breeze came in with new guitarist Chuck French and bass man Gregory Garcia jr. It is said they helped The Laughing Stalk to be the “most heavy incarnation” that ever existed of WOVENHAND. But this is no clumsy record, not at the slightest. The filigree details are around every corner and the Americana spirit is definitely wrought into every single track of the album. Take for example Maize: The booming rhythm and repetitive chanting vocals pay tribute to American natives’ music with of course adding an own seasoning to the songs, which in this case is the sparse and dreamy piano, supporting the wide scene delicately with all its frailty.
• But yes, most songs here are much more guitar-driven, heavily hypnotizing and hypnotizingly heavy, sometimes dark and mysterious, sometimes openly bulldozing the prairie. And sometimes they even can be fun: I couldn’t hide a smile when hearing the punk-rock infected piece As Wool. It’s a rocker and I can quite imagine this one to be some good enjoyment on stage…
• As a treat you best check out the album’s last song Glistening Black. It is sort of representative for the whole WOVENHAND sound that was developed through the last ten years and on the other hand it nicely displays the new heaviness and even some metal riffs, that remind you here and there of the heavier years of DEE‘s former band 16 HORSEPOWER.
Fortaken: http://nothingbuthopeandpassion.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• W OV EN H AN D
• IN THE TEMPLE
• Surely the stone will cry out….cry out from the wall and the rafter will answer back it is finished he has loved them all. from the framework he remembers himself ..what he looks like in the mirror He does sing over himself JUST to hear..JUST to hear this is not my home.. this is not my home..i am nomad
• Spread out above the heads of the living creatures a crystal vault of glass reflects his HOLY features it is not possible to be renewed again this is done is done is done the lamb the lamp the sun the lamb the lamp the sun in his temple now His tent of flesh and bone
• Blessed be Egypt my people Assyria my handiwork Israel mine inheritance.. the black and spotted sheep they shall be my wages to the uttermost for thy possession
• O UPRIGHT ONE
• YOU MAKE THE WAY OF THE RIGHTEOUS SMOOTH WHAT SHALL WE SAY OF SUCH WONDERFUL THINGS OF THE FRUIT OF LIPS THAT CONFESS THY NAME THAT CONFESS THY NAME O UPRIGHT ONE YOU MAKE THE WAY OF THE RIGHTEOUS SMOOTH OF THE LIGHT OF DAY O RIGHTEOUS ONE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• David Eugene Edwards' name still calls 16 horsepower to mind, but with the latest wovenhand album he not only steps out of the shadow, he threatens to overshadow his old band.
• Like Michael Gira's swans, it's a good year for doom-laden, dirge rock, layered with eclectic instrumentation & driven by pummelling riffs. after longtime collaborator pascal humbert left the band to return to his native france Edwards took the opportunity to reconfigure the line up, which resulted in what may be their heaviest incarnation yet. familiar mystical/biblical themes dominate, which may also appeal do Om fans, but the myriad strings create a dizzying, pacey swirl that is indescribably transfixing.
Albums:
• Woven Hand (2002)
• Blush Music (2003)
• Blush (Original Score) (2003)
• Consider the Birds (2004)
• Mosaic (2006)
• Puur (2006)
• Ten Stones (2008)
• The Threshingfloor (2010)
• Live at Roepaen (2012)
• The Laughing Stalk (2012)
© David Eugene Edwards / Cobie Deuling
© Credit: Jeronimo; Dave Eugene Edwards in Handelsbeurs, Gent
© David Eugene Edwards; Photo credit: F. TAIEB, Christian Lacroix´s album
© Ordy, Peter, Pascal (F. TAIEB)
| Wovenhand ≡ The Laughing Stalk (2012) |
Wovenhand — The Laughing Stalk
Location: Denver, Colorado, USA
Album release: September 7th, 2012
Record Label: Sounds Familyre (US)/Glitterhouse Records
Duration: 42:53
Tracks:
1. Long Horn 4:56
2. The Laughing Stalk 5:02
3. In the Temple 5:14
4. King O King 4:18
5. Closer 3:18
6. Maize 4:06
7. Coup Stick 4:28
8. As Wool 5:42
9. Glistening Black 5:48
Members:
• David Eugene Edwards
• Ordy Garrison
• Pascal Humbert
Past members:
• Daniel McMahon
• Paul Fonfara
• Shane Trost
• Peter Van Laerhoven
Notes:
• Vinyl with bonus CD, insert and limited edition (2000 pcs.) hand-printed letterpress poster.
Website: http://wovenhandmosaic.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/wovenhand
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wovenhand-official/189495264425563
• Katrin Kropf September 4, 2012
• With the release of a best-of output in late 2011 and a live CD earlier this year it already looked a bit like America’s finest alt-country outfit WOVENHAND (also spelled like WOVEN HAND) is slowly running out of ideas. But this is far from the truth. It is more like after ten years of WOVENHAND that its band boss David Eugene Edwards (DEE) is ready to close a chapter and open a new one – and voilá, there it is now: A new blasting WOVENHAND album called The Laughing Stalk, heavier than anything else that escaped the biblical-tinged feather of this Americana mastermind during the last decade. And of course again the lyrics are inspired by the old and new testament, but even if you are not a theologist and/or practicing Christian you will soon realize that those words dig deeper into mankind’s weaknesses and are more universal than you might instantly think. WOVENHAND‘s lyrics here talk of loss and suffering but also of purity, joy and the rare moments of blessedness – as they always did.
• So what changed with album number seven? First it might be important to say that only DEE and drummer Ordy Garrison remained from the original lineup and a fresh breeze came in with new guitarist Chuck French and bass man Gregory Garcia jr. It is said they helped The Laughing Stalk to be the “most heavy incarnation” that ever existed of WOVENHAND. But this is no clumsy record, not at the slightest. The filigree details are around every corner and the Americana spirit is definitely wrought into every single track of the album. Take for example Maize: The booming rhythm and repetitive chanting vocals pay tribute to American natives’ music with of course adding an own seasoning to the songs, which in this case is the sparse and dreamy piano, supporting the wide scene delicately with all its frailty.
• But yes, most songs here are much more guitar-driven, heavily hypnotizing and hypnotizingly heavy, sometimes dark and mysterious, sometimes openly bulldozing the prairie. And sometimes they even can be fun: I couldn’t hide a smile when hearing the punk-rock infected piece As Wool. It’s a rocker and I can quite imagine this one to be some good enjoyment on stage…
• As a treat you best check out the album’s last song Glistening Black. It is sort of representative for the whole WOVENHAND sound that was developed through the last ten years and on the other hand it nicely displays the new heaviness and even some metal riffs, that remind you here and there of the heavier years of DEE‘s former band 16 HORSEPOWER.
Fortaken: http://nothingbuthopeandpassion.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• W OV EN H AN D
• IN THE TEMPLE
• Surely the stone will cry out….cry out from the wall and the rafter will answer back it is finished he has loved them all. from the framework he remembers himself ..what he looks like in the mirror He does sing over himself JUST to hear..JUST to hear this is not my home.. this is not my home..i am nomad
• Spread out above the heads of the living creatures a crystal vault of glass reflects his HOLY features it is not possible to be renewed again this is done is done is done the lamb the lamp the sun the lamb the lamp the sun in his temple now His tent of flesh and bone
• Blessed be Egypt my people Assyria my handiwork Israel mine inheritance.. the black and spotted sheep they shall be my wages to the uttermost for thy possession
• O UPRIGHT ONE
• YOU MAKE THE WAY OF THE RIGHTEOUS SMOOTH WHAT SHALL WE SAY OF SUCH WONDERFUL THINGS OF THE FRUIT OF LIPS THAT CONFESS THY NAME THAT CONFESS THY NAME O UPRIGHT ONE YOU MAKE THE WAY OF THE RIGHTEOUS SMOOTH OF THE LIGHT OF DAY O RIGHTEOUS ONE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• David Eugene Edwards' name still calls 16 horsepower to mind, but with the latest wovenhand album he not only steps out of the shadow, he threatens to overshadow his old band.
• Like Michael Gira's swans, it's a good year for doom-laden, dirge rock, layered with eclectic instrumentation & driven by pummelling riffs. after longtime collaborator pascal humbert left the band to return to his native france Edwards took the opportunity to reconfigure the line up, which resulted in what may be their heaviest incarnation yet. familiar mystical/biblical themes dominate, which may also appeal do Om fans, but the myriad strings create a dizzying, pacey swirl that is indescribably transfixing.
Albums:
• Woven Hand (2002)
• Blush Music (2003)
• Blush (Original Score) (2003)
• Consider the Birds (2004)
• Mosaic (2006)
• Puur (2006)
• Ten Stones (2008)
• The Threshingfloor (2010)
• Live at Roepaen (2012)
• The Laughing Stalk (2012)