Pumpkinseed ​/ ​Wica Intina ​- Songs From A Wooden Bell Vol​:​1​.

Ready yourself to dive into the timeless waters of Tennessee lakes. Pumpkinseed and Wica Intina  have hooked the raw folk sounds of the past and pulled their sparkling nostalgia up from the cool depths. I have always loved the creativity of Meliphonic Records and Songs From A Wooden Bell Vol​:​1​. solidifies this feeling even more.

Soaking in low-fi goodness, this split cassette works it's enchantment over nine catchy tunes. The first side by Pumpkinseed (Daniel Gardner)  has unprocessed electric guitar and well crafted vocals. Starting off with a modern raga like track titled "Yanga Yanga", with field recorded conversations, then the radio dial turning to forgotten country classics. "Dakotas Room/Holidays" delivers well sung harmony over thoughtful written lyrics. Really a nice composition. The next tracks explores some great guitar played over droned feedback and even more cleverly delivered singing. All hearkening to sounds simply played and recorded, no trickery or processing.

Wica Intina's (Dakoto Brown) side arrives with just a touch of more hi-fidelity. Resting even more into the singer-songwriter vein. Beautiful acoustic guitar and richly sung vocals. Starting off with "The Remaining Tribes Move to Shiloh", Wica has schooled himself in the art of timing. Balanced with patience and delicacy, the track is a pleasure to hear and rehear. "Ballad of Obey" is a superb classic and ends with death, like the direction all ballad songs of the past tend to go. The vocal tone of side b spans decades and reminds me of how songs were once sung.

From the tape i have, forty seven of fifty, this is a fairly limited run. Meliphonic Records out of Tennessee is quickly becoming a well traveled path with cairns like Songs From A Wooden Bell Vol​:​1​. showing which way to go. This is a great split with both artists in parity with each other. If you need more words, check out Ryan Masteller's write up on Cassette Gods. He has a great view of this tape and the label. And since you are into reading (because you have read this far), don't miss Wica Intina's prolific light on music We Keep The Neighbors Up.
 




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Meliphonic Records - bandcamp - facebook