Description:	CD on Static Caravan
	Format:	CD
	Genre(s):	Folk/Folk Rock
	Label:	Static Caravan
	Price:	£8.59
	Availability:	In stock. Dispatched in 1 working day.

4
...according to our Brian on 05 September 2008.

The Owl Service have this 'The Fabric of Folk' EP out on Static Caravan with Alison O'Donnell. This is full timbre spook folk, the lady has a remarkable voice. She's like a possessed gypsy with a stunning range, a right powerful voice that folds itself round you like velvet on 'The Wooden Coat', a beautifully gothic number. Then it goes proper Steeleye Span on track 2, much ado about Robin Hood etc. More trad flecked folk follows, her voice not permitted to reach the dizzying heights of the opener unfortunately. Track 4 is a twinkly music box effort with a celtic harp in there somewhere! I like track 5 with the multi tracked voices crisscrossing round your head like a dawn chorus on psychedelics, a muted guitar and a wistful fiddle. So there ya go...nice gear!

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What their label says...

If you thought social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook were just devices which sucked you into an unstoppable vortex of wasted time, then think again. A chance discussion between Steven Collins and Alison O’Donnell, formerly of legendary Irish prog-folk troupe Mellow Candle, took place on such a website and out of that conversation came the first fruits of this collaboration.
The Fabric of Folk is a 5-track EP featuring Collins’ in his guise as mainman of the Owl Service, one generation of folk-rock crashing head-long into an earlier, glorious era represented here by the considerable vocal talents of Alison O’Donnell. Capturing the many different faces of folk-rock, the five songs here – two are original compositions by the pair, one of which was written with the Straw Bear Band’s Dominic Cooper – are perfectly formed, heartfelt and touching but with more than a hint of darkness.This follows on from the Owl Service’s previous release for Static Caravan, the Cine 3” CD (VAN 140), and arrives alongside their debut album A Garland of Song, which is being released on Southern Records. Meanwhile, Alison’s former band Mellow Candle have returned to prominence on the back of the newly repackaged Swaddling Songs – their solitary album release – which has been remastered and reissued by Esoteric/Cherry Red. Inspired by a mutual recognition and respect, the pairing of Collins’ band with O’Donnell is a dreamy combination. Imbued with a sense of revivalism, The Fabric of Folk is far from backward-looking and instead concocts something incredibly new which, while referencing the production techniques and masterful storytelling of Brit-folk’s heyday, is bubbling with new ideas and an inherent knack for crafting sublime arrangements.