Remarkable debut LP by new Cosmic-Appalachian string band, birthed from the same Virginia firmament that has brought you Pelt, Jack Rose, Black Twig Pickers, and Spiral Joy Band. Led by Mike Gangloff’s droning fiddle and Matt Peyton’s fingerpicked guitar, Eight Point Star mines the modal traditions of both old-time Appalachia and far-out drone music to produce beautiful tunes that are equal parts memorable and psychedelic. Side A starts with the gentle guitar and fiddle duet of “Winchester’s Dream” before segueing into the loping “Waiting on the Band,” where the subliminal pulse of Tim Thornton’s upright bass animates the music until the lengthy lock-groove repetition of “The Interloper.” Closing the side, “Flowerthrower” and “Mount-Calvary Peacock” have a vibe reminiscent of Popol Vuh’s mid-70’s masterpieces, combining sawing fiddle and melodic guitar with simple and haunting chord structures. Side B is bookended by two country-blues influenced numbers, with Matt Peyton’s boisterous vocal and guitar and Isak Howell’s harp leading the upbeat “Brand New Shirt” and the elegiac “Weeping Cherry Cry.” In between the two vocal features are a segued mini-epic of moods, including an expanded group lineup collapsing midway through “A Water Panther Speaks” into an eerie soundscape of singing bowls and distant gong sounds as dark as the night in remotest Virginia.
credits
released July 30, 2021
Mike Gangloff: Fiddle, hardanger-style fiddle, singing bowls, gong, backup vocals
Matt Peyton: Guitar, theremin, vocals
Isak Howell: Harp, sruti box
Tim Thornton: Bass, sruti box, backup vocals
with
Joe Dejarnette: Bass, singing bowl (appears on Sunshine Dog, The Interloper, A Water Panther Speaks);
Caleb Flood: Drums, keyboard (appears on Sunshine Dog, The Interloper, A Water Panther Speaks);
Cara Gangloff: Backup vocals on Brand New Shirt
Mostly recorded at home December 2019-February 2020 in Poplar Hollow, Ironto and Blacksburg, Virginia, USA, with Sunshine Dog, The Interloper, & A Water Panther Speaks recorded earlier at Joe Dejarnette’s Studio 808a, Topeca Community, Floyd County, Virginia, USA
Mixed and Mastered by Joe Dejarnette
Winchester’s Dream, Mount-Calvary Peacock, Brand New Shirt, Jubal, A Water Panther Speaks, Sunshine Dog, and Weeping Cherry Cry by Matt Peyton
The Interloper, Flowerthrower, Mist Came Down the Pedlar Hills by Mike Gangloff
supported by 130 fans who also own “Eight Point Star”
The wonderful performances of the group are elevated by the absolutely gorgeous production. The mix is perfect, lively and full, but not overproduced. It sounds like I'm right there with the Pickers. hagbardcelinedion
supported by 91 fans who also own “Eight Point Star”
Bright gray sheets of roaring and shimmering guitar held aloft by a delicate web of percussion. Post-rock, shoegaze, psych- rock and hints of bluesy folk, all audible and enmeshed. IlsaJ
The pedal steel guitarist marks his solo debut with a meditative blend of ambient electronics, neoclassical, and field recordings. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 13, 2021