Naive Shaman, The

Richard Youngs is a much heralded champion of the free folk/minimalist movement (See the September WIRE magazine cover feature on him).He has played with Jandek and has influence countless free-folkians like Six Organs of Admittance and Current 93. He has done everything from minimal noise experimentation to full on prog-rock. But my favorite stuff by this Scotsman is his solo song orientated albums like this one. “Naïve Shaman” finds Youngs fully diving into digital recording with a focus on the bass. Most songs are droney and modal with drifting guitar and bass melody and swirly electronics. Very Pink Floyd “Meddle” at times. Moody and dark with cool sounds and melody. I LOVE IT!–tHE bAWd oF eUPHONy

1**(5:10) Chant-like drone with swirly bass and electronics. Warm with bursts of jazzy percussion. Great vocal harmonies. Spacey and Rad!
2*(5:21) Dark meandering. Verby vocals. Spooky
3**(9:41) Steady pulsing bass, give this one life. Repeated vocal lines and jiggly guitar. A standout track!
4**(3:33) King Krimsony. Large vocal sound with expansive sound builds. Very electronic
5**(16:23) Wet blimps begin, then dark Pink Floydy vocals take hold. Modal and dark. Very long but worth the wait.