Description:	CD on Rusted Rail Records BACK IN!
	Format:	CD
	Genre(s):	Folk/Folk Rock
	Label:	Rusted Rail
	Price:	£6.19
	Availability:	In stock. Dispatched in 1 working day.

5
...according to our Brian on 08 January 2009.

Not heard much from The Big Eyes Family Players recently and their brand of gentle, absorbing music. 'Donkeysongs' changes all that with a sweet 8 tracker on Irish imprint Rusted Rail. Beginning with 'Snowflake Runt', a tentative Bluegrass-esque musing underpinned with a melancholy reedy keyboard and shuffling percussion that's as disorientating as it is beautiful. It does indeed start to sound like a polyphonic mess, like many tunes playing at once, building gradually, barely keeping time but boy, once it grabs you and yanks you into its swirling universe of pattering tribal folk and subtle psychedelia, you're hooked. It's their sparing use of the human voice as an added instrument that gives these songs such an otherworldly vibe. 'Lavinia' is a little like Jack Rose with little analogue synth yawns and quiet voice intonations. 'Donkeys Disturbed By A Meteor Shower' is quite simply gorgeous, sideways experimental folk with real soul and a delicious homemade feel. 'Clunk Orm' is an eccentric piano piece accentuated with electronic mumbles, tumbling along like a drunken ball of playfighting mice. That's all i've time for, there's another 4 tracks of splendid pan European folk spanning Raga, Balkan, Parisian and traditional styles, embellished with goodness knows whatever comes to hand to create probably the best thing i've heard so far his first week of 2008 apart from the Animal collective album which is a fucking high benchmark, believe me!! Utterly wonderful!

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What their label says...

Rusted Rail is proud to welcome the Big Eyes Family Players into our community. This avant-folk collective started life in Leeds, England as Big Eyes back in 2000 with the intention of creating classical music without any real training or knowledge of the genre. The ensemble recorded four albums until 2004 when the group disintegrated and reformed as The Big Eyes Family Players. The new name held a new aim – more collaboration and experimentation under the chamber/folk  blanket.  Previous collaborators have included Jeremy Barnes from Neutral Milk Hotel/A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Rachel Grimes from Rachel's and James Yorkston. For “Donkeysongs” the trio of James Green, David A Jaycock and Chris Boyd  conjured sounds from guitars, harmonium, violins, drums, harp, kazoo, piano, recorder, water-bird-whistle and organ, with the resulting folksongs and chamber compositions nestling comfortably beside pieces made entirely from looped material. This 5inch hand-stamped album is housed in a handmade sleeve featuring a lino cut by James Green.

Big Eyes Family Players  
“Donkeysongs”

1. Snowflake Runt
2. Lavinia
3. Donkeys Disturbed By a Meteor Shower
4. Clunk Orm
5. The Orange Miller
6. Yellow Bird March
7. Leave Your Memories in the Past
8. An Improvised Drowning