GENRE : psychedelic rock, psychedelic folk, indie rock, 70's psych rock, freak folk
RECORD LABEL : Perpetual Doom
Lee Baggett is a mystifying songwriter/musician who was musically at his most active throughout the 70s and 80s, but seemed to have disappeared into the mists of time. 'Just A Minute' is his legendary album, which was thankfully re-discovered and exhumed by indie record label Perpetual Doom, and eventually released on their label in April 2021.
This sounds like a lost Neil Young album from the 70s, and I'm saying that in the best possible way because let's be honest - 70's Neil Young is the best Neil Young. If you loved Neil Young and Bob Dylan when they were at their peak, and (like myself) constantly crave more of their material from that era - you need this album in your life. It might take a while to get into the vocals, but I plead you to persevere. Since it clicked with me, it just gets better and better with subsequent listens. A perfect album for lazy depressing sunny days.
GENRE : alternative, art rock, chamber pop, freak folk, indie rock
RECORD LABEL : Perpetual Doom
Here's a gorgeous chamber pop album to soothe your aching spirit. This is the new album by American artist/musician Eric Terino, and the latest release by the ever-growing/ever-mystifying record label, Perpetual Doom.
These songs are deeply personal and confessional, yet rather than dragging you down into the dark pits of Terino's pain and suffering, they help you transcend your human boundaries and frailties, and ultimately elevate you to some higher plane. They make you feel like you can be whoever you want to be in this life. Like in all good music and art, Terino has the ability to turn heartbreak and tragedy into something beautiful and healing.
Within seconds of pressing play I was lured and lulled by Terino's gorgeous voice - delicate, vulnerable, haunting and melancholic. The music itself is a beautiful mix of chamber pop and alternative art rock - the central focus being Terino's vocals and piano playing, wonderfully backed by soaring orchestral strings, jazzy French horns, harps and a musical saw.
In the overall sound I hear elements of Anthony & The Johnsons, Tori Amos, Sigur Ros, and maybe even a bit of Bon Iver... yet at the same time it's entirely its own thing. This is music conjured from the deepest recesses of the human heart. I highly recommend you give it a listen.
I love 70's psych folk, especially the darker stuff. I love 70's everything for that matter. We all know Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Simon & Garfunkel, Joan Baez, Vashti Bunyan, Cat Stevens, etc... who are all great folk artists, and I'm not taking anything away from them, but you can find their music anywhere and everywhere, even if you're not looking for it.
I wanted to compile a list of great 70's psych folk albums/songs that most people probably haven't heard of - artists that seem to have disappeared into the mists of time...
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Linda Perhacs - Parallelograms (1970)
Linda Perhacs is an American psychedelic folk singer. This is her debut album, which was originally released in 1970 to scant notice, sales or attention. It was rediscovered in the late 1990s by record enthusiasts on the internet, and since then it's been steadily gaining more popularity, but still mostly unknown.
Michael Yonkers & Jim Woehrle - Borders of my Mind (1973)
I love Michael Yonkers, but he's a strange one. I considered not including any of his music in this post because he's strayed into various non-folky musical directions. He's done a goofy oddball country album, a instrumental harsh guitar noise album, etc... but some of his best material can definitely be placed pretty comfortably in the psych folk category. This is a really good album - a duo record with his friend Jim Woehrle. It's touching and strange and funny. The songs often ending in bursts of laughter.
Sparrow - Wings of the Morning (1977)
Sparrow was a Christian folk duo from the '70s, consisting of David Shwan and Greg Zornes. This is their only album.
Nigel Planer - Five Songs Left (1971)
Nigel Planer wrote this album when he was eighteen years old, back in '77. It's raw and primitive and really damn good. Later in life he went onto become an actor, a writer and a comedian.
Keith Christmas - Fable of the Wings (1970)
Keith Christmas has had a very impressive career, spanning over 50 years. He's recorded multiple albums, toured all over the world, and played acoustic guitar on David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' album. This is his classic 1970 solo album.
Catherine Howe - What A Beautiful Place (1971)
This album is the Brit folk autobiography of Catherine Hower, who was aged 20 at the time of its recording. She never made it as a breakout success, or anywhere near as big as she deserved, but she certainly had a devoted cult following. If you're looking for beautiful, jazzy, orchestral, pastoral folk... then this album is for you.
Gaynor Jenkins - Selected Short Stories (1972/1973)
Gaynor Jenkins is sadly no longer with us, but her music lives on, thanks to her sons Aiden and Dorian. The recordings that comprise this album were unearthed 50 years after they were recorded, back in '72 and '73, mostly at the University of Kent, where Jenkins was studying at age 25. I'm so glad these recordings were eventually shared.
Caedmon - Caedmon (1978)
Caedmon were a Scottish folk rock band from the '70s. This eponymous debut album was a cult hit back in '78. Only 500 copies of it were originally made, before it was eventually released out into the world. I'm not sure when that was, but here it is...
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FURTHER LISTENING...
Here are a bunch of individual 70s psych folk songs that I love, but wasn't able to locate the digital albums they were taken from anywhere online, therefore couldn't embed them on this post. All these songs are gorgeous. I never get sick of these forgotten gems.
GENRE : experimental folk, bedroom pop, psychedelic folk, freak folk
RECORD LABEL : Orindal Records
Lisa/Liza is the solo experimental folk music project of Lisa Victoria Miller from Portland, Maine. This EP is...strange. As suggested in her Bandcamp blurb, I listened to it through earphones...
Weird chorus-y acoustic guitars swirl in my head, while her beautiful voice floats in and out of focus, echoing and blipping (is that a word?) from ear to ear... a confusing yet strangely beautiful listening experience. This EP did something to my head, but I don't know what.
Lisa/Liza is one of many interesting artists on the Orindal Records. You should have a browse through their Bandcamp page.
GENRE : psychadelic blues, freak folk, psychadelic rock, alternative, indie rock, dark pop
RECORD LABEL : Perpetual Doom
Feast of Smoke is the husband/wife duo of Paul & Amber Oldham, and this is their fantastic debut record. They managed to merge ghostly psychadelic blues with whispered downtempo folk, dirty punk riffage and straight-up rock n roll. To steal a quote from the music website Raven Sings The Blues - ''This record is both intimate and aloof'''. I think that description nails the vibe. In fact, I find quite a lot of interesting juxtaposition going on in this record. It's dirty and beautiful, weird and wonderful, comforting and eerie, haunting and reticent, joyful and depressing... even the way both their voices seem to float in and out of tune, but somehow create a great overall tone.
I was anticipating the release of this album for what seems like forever. I can't explain why I was getting so impatient and desperate...I just was. It was a shitty year, and something about this album convinced me that I was going to love it. Maybe it was a combination of the artwork and Perpetual Doom's great promo work...I don't know, but it felt like months of unbearable torture. When it finally came out, I played the shit out of it, mostly during pitch black commutes to and from work. The songs are cool and comforting, yet they also make me feel kind of sick and anxious. I love it though, and I'd highly recommend it. I really hope this great musical duo release more in the future.
The soundtrack to being alone and depressed on a tropical island. Everything is hot and sticky and miserable, and no one speaks the same language as you, and the food sucks...
'Strange Paradise' is the debut album of Austin songwriter/musician, Sarah La Puerta. It's dark and funny and weird and beautiful. Perpetual Doom is a great quirky record label that mostly specializes in limited vinyl/cassette releases of a raw lo-fi aesthetic. They have released many great albums of artists I've never heard of. This one ranks amongst their best.
