Faun Fables -- Family Album

European folk/storytelling/goth -- Here's the third album from the incomparable Faun Fables from Oakland. Difficult to pidgeonhole into a particular genre -- gothic faerie tales, dark Brechtian cabaret, Eastern European woodland folk, however you categorize it, it is hypnotizing, beautiful, sweet, dark, powerful, at once simple and complex. Features Dawn the Faun's beautiful voice along with Nils Frykdahl (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Idiot Flesh) and simple instrumentation with repeated motifs.Songs focus on family themes and Dawn's mom, sister and brother even contributed to the album. A true treasure!
1. starts with kids playing, guitar + flute, hypnotic repeated rhythm, dramatic dual screaming vocals at end -- amazing!
2. simple guitar + glockenspiel, poetic mythic lyrics
3. beautiful beautiful voice + guitar, lyrics about her mother, ends with piano
4. Starts with squawking bird, Nils sings, dark folky guitar motif, lyrics about dogs and birds
5. quicker, guitar + violin + , Dawn's voice ascends, irish flute
6. seven-year old sings with muted accompaniment -- a song she wrote herself!
7. dark folk, simple guitar + drum, Nils sings, forlorn lyrics
8. dawn+guitar, pretty, samples of whales
9. starts with operatic church hymn sample, then church organ + dawn sings slow church-style hymn with out-of-tune congregational singers - great!
10. quick cabaret style -- translated from polish -- excellent!
11. slow, Nils sings dramatically, dark cabaret --great!!!
12. dark march, pots+pans, marching-drums
13. quick, goth dance number? lyrics translated from french -- "just love me for my skeleton" -
14. Nils tells story about insomniac and mouse, dawn sings traditional swiss song with flute about mouse
15. hypnotic guitar, beautiful, lyrics about kids playing, sample of kids playing at end