First solo LP in a decade from long-time Pelt/Black Twigs/Eight Point Star leader, presenting a remarkable program of solo Hardanger and octave fiddle music. Evening Measures is a bold and unique statement, a direct and disarming individual expression of a musician’s inner thoughts and inspirations. Like some of Mike’s work in other projects, this ricochets back and forth across the line between the most traditional and the most “out” music, blending drone, melody, and the pure tactile sensation of acoustic string music into a personal sound. A set of all-original compositions (save the traditional “Wild Geese Chase”), Mike’s playing is languorous and expressive, with the sympathetic strings of the Hardanger-style instrument ringing out on some cuts like multiple players. The album touches on a variety of styles, keeping things fresh for the entire playing time. “The Other Side of Catawba” is a deeply psychedelic and immersive cloud of hovering string sound, reminiscent of some of Pelt’s more gentle explorations. “New River Suite” (some of which appeared in group versions by Eight Point Star on a PBS documentary about Appalachia’s New River) is a keening set of themes that have the memorable melodies of established traditional repertoire but are all completely new. “Wild Geese Chase” is a rugged and wild slash through a well-known fiddle standard. “Halfway From Shawsville” rounds things out with a lovely tribute to Mike’s Virginia town.
credits
released November 25, 2022
Dedicated to my wife, Cara
with thanks to her & to Kaily for helping find the colors of the sounds; to Joe DeJarnette for helping steer the path from microphone to record; & to Bill Kellum for always taking the music to where others could hear it.
& with acknowledgement of my bandmates in Pelt, Black Twig Pickers & Eight Point Star for years of showing me the way; also of Liam Grant & Grayson McGuire & Rob Vaughn & Adam Kiesling for sparking new sonic adventures & reasons to reflect.
& with ongoing gratitude to everyone who listened & who shared – it passed in a blink, though it lasted years; still yet, it continues.
--MG, Ironto, Virginia, USA 2022
“The full day is gone and so we sit in wonder
As the peach blues to black, looking forward…
The depth of one hour can be greater
Than a chapter of words, a well drilled mine”
All songs by Mike Gangloff, copyright 2022, except Wild Geese Chase, traditional, this arrangement copyright 2018.
Recorded at home in Ironto, March-May 2022 except Wild Geese Chase, which came earlier. Co-production & mastering by Joe DeJarnette.
Excerpt from The Bluehour by Cara Gangloff. Oil details from J. Sternberg, 1957, Lexington, Kentucky.
supported by 99 fans who also own “Evening Measures”
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
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supported by 61 fans who also own “Evening Measures”
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