Album: Moulettes, Moulettes (Balling the Jack)

3.00

Reviewed by Andy Gill

Friday 23 July 2010

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Moulettes are an oddity even among the diverse ranks of the new folk boom, with the constant presence of Ruth Skipper's bassoon giving their sound a little of the flavour of 1970s early-music chamber-folkies Gryphon.

But there's something more theatrical about Moulettes' approach that tugs them closer to The Tiger Lillies, especially on gruesome pieces like "Bloodshed in the Woodshed", the folk-song equivalent of an Edwardian drawing-room murder tale, and the satanic romance "Devil of Mine".

Violin and cello are attacked with gusto throughout the album, driving the arrangements into unusual territories – "Cannibal Song" being a curious blend of Balkan fiddle, bluegrass banjo and bouncing bassoon, and "Requiem" is where traditional folk meets Holst's "Mars, bringer of war".



DOWNLOAD THIS Recipe for Alchemy; Cannibal Song; Devil of Mine

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