Search - Harvestman :: Lashing the Rye

Calm, and quite pretty, but massive

Aquarius Records | San Francisco | 12/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Best known as the bearded, kinda imposing guitarist/vocalist/viking in the art-metal institution known as Neurosis, Steve Von Till is always working on other projects as well... Harvestman being his latest musical incarnation (with help from friends, including members of Amber Asylum), devoted to making psychedelic, electronic spacerock with a traditional folk heritage. It's like pagans were picked up at Stonehenge by an alien spaceship and deposited on some far off planet aeons hence to make music on futuristic instruments (that we call electric guitars and synthesizers).



Lashing The Rye is mostly instrumental, with just two female vocal visitations and (on one song) the sampled voice of Bert Jansch. Also SVT "narrates" on one track, a la Current 93 or something. The twelve tracks here may have titles like "Scarborough Fair" and "Sheep-Crook and Black Dog" (Harvestman's renderings of those two inspired by versions recorded by John Renbourn and Steeleye Span, respectively) but while many of the tunes here may be traditional, Harvestman's interpretation and instrumentation sure ain't! Though there's some delicate guitar and piano (and searing bagpipe) this isn't all that "acoustic" -- there's also plenty of droning electronic spaciness and heavy waves of distorted electric guitar. It's calm, and quite pretty, but massive. Folk-drone for giants. Imagine Amps For Christ teamed up with Kinski. Parts even hint at the density of SUNNO))) or Boris. Recommended!"

Excellent Side Project from the Neurosis Crew

Concerned One | Clarinda, IA | 11/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is a great album by Steve Von Till and collaborators, comparable to his previous adventures like Static Migration with Tribes of Neurot and his Fist Solo Album As the Crow Flies. Very beautiful and Hypnotic, with good melodies and trance like moments through out the album. some of the tracks even reminiscent of Souls at Zero Neurosis. Track twelve has to be my favorite track, because you can not go wrong with bagpipes. If you are a fan of neurosis and tribes of neurot, this is a good blend inbetween the ambient sounds of tribes and the metal sounds of neurosis. highly recommended."