Saturday, May 21, 2011

Pop Matters review of the Tree People "It's My Story" album

cover art

The Tree People

It's My Story

(Guerssen; US: 31 Aug 2010; UK: 21 Jul 2010)

Known as Oregon’s forefathers of freak folk, the Tree People were recording songs of heady, rustic psychedelia in an era when skinny ties and synthesizers were the prominent means of creative expression. The trio already has a pair of mellow masterpieces under its belt in its eponymous 1979 debut and the 1983 follow-up, Human Voices. Now, after a three-decade break from action, the tree men return with It’s My Story, 12 new songs for acoustic guitar, bass, recorder, flute and percussion that fit perfectly into the mood of the modern-day freakscene made famous by the likes of Vetiver, Wooden Wand and Six Organs of Admittance. The album also pays homage to the English Canterbury movement that gave us Fairport Convention and Pentangle. Highlights include the cheeky “More Than Yoko” and a new version of their classic song “Space Heater”.

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