Creative and fragile folk strangeness
A collaborative venture recorded over two weekends in Edinburgh, Cold Seeds merge the talents of Kenny Anderson (King Creosote) and Frances Donnelly (Animal Magic Tricks), along with Neil Pennycook and Pete Harvey (Meursault). Opening with the lo-fi and atmospheric sing a long of ‘Love Me to Lie Alone in the Ground’ the track sets the stall for what’s to come both sonically and emotionally and also provides the name ‘Cold Seeds’ for this project. ‘King’ showcases the haunting quality of Donnelly’s vocals which build to a desperate climax as she sings ‘wait for me’ and echo’s PJ Harvey’s most recent sparse arrangements. Harvey’s namesake Pete interjects with oozing cello which both convinces and adds to the longing portrayed throughout. Album highlight ‘Bubble’ floats along gently, but don’t be fooled into the genial nature of its opening bars and textured banjo, this is a story of desperation ‘something went wrong’ and heartbreak ‘whose been unkind, whose been unfair’ a song to melt the hardest of hearts.
Cold Seeds is an interesting listen and has one foot placed firmly in its more natural folk roots but the other hovers and teases us with a more experimental edge. ‘Sleet’ is one such case and comparisons to John Cale/Velvets drone led expression are easily found in the creative combination of instruments both old and new which form the fragile foundation of this song. However this mournful lament is liberally scattered with delicate folk beauty that mixes seamlessly with the stranger electronic sounds on offer. The interestingly titled ‘The Perfume of Mexican Birds' also follows down a similar track that juxtaposes traditional folk melodies with minimalistic chiming, which is both ramshackle and essential to the songs understated charm. ‘Soil’ once again reflects the organic theme of this albums recording and creativity. Closer ‘Please Don’t Send Me Home’ climaxes in a shower of reverb heavy vocals and distorted and disturbing drone sounds that eerily conclude the record.
Cold Seeds is not accessible to all but its creative and fragile strangeness will appeal to those who like their music to experiment, explore and reward to very interesting effects.