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Brigid Power Ryce "You Are Here"
Here's a brand new 3" CD on the ever dependable Rusted Rail label. It's by Brigid Power Ryce and it's been recorded by the UK and US by
Liam Watson and Eric Carbonara. She's a singer songwriter who has a very potent, powerful voice. I'm listening to this live for the first
time as I type and it's by far the most striking thing about this EP. The track 'Lost Night Girls' is doing it for me as I'm totally sold
by the vocal performance. The songs themselves are folk infused singer songwriter affairs which will appeal to folks who like Marissa
Nadler, Haruko and the ilk. 'You Are Here' is a totally delightful 3" EP and I genuinely can't recommend it enough.
Let's see if you're floored by those vocals 'n all!
With three tracks recorded spring 2009 in Philadelphia, interwoven with two more recorded the prior spring in London, it's hard to tell
exactly where we are on 'You Are Here' particularly as place feels less the music's concern than time. With a voice like a reigned-in
Mira Billotte of White Magic, Ryce brings a kindred melancholy and inquiry to simple, strong verses, mystifying the mundane and self-evident
now with lyrical imagination indebted to pagan virtue as much as those interpreters who came before (Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Karen Dalton, etc).
Her shaggy delivery expresses a modest range as much as it amplifies the lone guitar which picks faithfully alongside
like the score's staff, grounded on its belly as her vowels grow loftier and loftier. Though the song at times threatens
to lose itself in the sustained high (rephrasing the bold title on the cover as a mantra directed inward) the clean production brings both characters to the fore with fine separation and complimentary colors.
Stamped disc comes in standard RR hand-assembled sleeve with pasted photo. Recommended!
A truly outstanding release on one of my favourite labels. Two of these tracks were recorded at ToeRag Studios and the other three in
Philadelphia by Eric Carbonara and the sound on all five is warm and full. Brigid plays 12 string guitar and sings with a languid
free-flowing style, reminiscent of Tim Buckley. Highly recommended
Five track ep on the Irish-based label Rusted Rail from avant folk artist Brigid Power Ryce. recorded in Philadelphia with
Eric Carbonara and also in London at Toe Rag studios with Liam Watson. The ep features some beautifully haunting avant-folk
sounds from this Galway-based artist. Its a lovely raw kind of stripped down sound simply featuring steel-strung acoustic
guitar picking and vocals. Almost like a more rustic Cat Power with the weirdness of Joanna Newsom. Comes in a lovely hand
stamped three inch card sleeve, all lovingly hand made by the Rusted Rail label.
Proving that the ladies can be equally as tormented, Brigid Power Ryce's "You Are Here" has a melancholia coursing through it that
congeals in the yowling sadness of her voice. 'Like A Sun' in particular makes a deep impression, with its downhearted 12-string
strumming framing the vocals perfectly, recalling heartbreaks as old as time.
It's appealingly under-produced, making Power-Ryce's long dark night of the soul even crueller.
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