Labels: Firefly
Review by: Andy Malcolm
You may or may not be aware that a recent archaelogical dig carried out by Tony
Robinson and the Time Team in a remote part of Egypt saw the discovery of a rare cache
of dusty cassette tapes recorded by the late Pharoah Rameses III. Mr. III was a few
millenia ahead of his time, as these 7 tracks prove. Bands such as Songs: Ohia (before
they acquired a Neil Young addiction) and Ida (if they had a guy in a mesh baseball
cap in them instead of someone who was in the Hated) are merely making music from an
ancient day indeed.
Ok, so I enjoy this cd an awful lot. Around this time last year I got addicted to the
Iron & Wine cd (he has a new ep out now, get it), playing it all the time and such.
Rameses possess a similar ability to make beautifully fragile music, with just a
voice, the occasional backing vocal, a couple of acoustic guitars and a little
electronic interference. I am not exactly literate in this style of music (folk?
countryish?) but I know what I like, and I like Rameses #3. The vocals barely hold
together, soft and on the edge of falling apart for the most part, yet stronger at
times. The warm guitar winds it’s way slowly onwards and the music works extra well if
you are in solitary and have a whiskey on the go. Nice. I am not really sure what else
to add here, I think I will be spinning this on more than the odd occasion as winter
dawns and it’s dark before I even leave work. Raw music, the way it ought to be.