Photo courtesy of Rise Above Records
English folklore may lean heavily towards the whimsical and come bedecked in strange lights and fairies, but its weird, arcane dark side makes the blood-stained Aztecs look tame and gives the merauding Norsemen a run for their sceattas. Case in point: the galley beggar. Despite the cutesy-sounding name and mental image it inspires of a pathetic little kitchen imp whining for scraps, this thing is essentially the anti-Dobby. Think the Headless Horseman, if he was actually a glowing skeleton with piercing howl that could freeze a man in his tracks, and spent his time stalking the English countryside with its own severed head cradled in his dessicated arms.
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With a namesake like that, one would expect Kent’s resident retro folk rock troubadours to keep it nice and creepy, but this paisely-clad six-piece would rather pay tribute to Fairport Convention. On Galley Beggar’s third full-length, Silence & Tears, they jam traditional folk tunes blended with 70s acid rock, lavishing gloomy, psychedelic touches on old chestnuts like “Geordie” and “Jack Orion.” The album reaches its zenith in the nine-minute seafaring epic “Pay My Body Home,” a mournful ballad brightened by rippling melodies.
Listen hard to Silence & Tears in its entirety, and grab it from Rise Above Records on May 19:
Kim Kelly is chasing beasties on Twitter: @grimkim