Calla — “Fear of Fireflies”
I really like this atmospheric opening track off of Calla’s “Scavengers” album.
I was reminded about this album while browsing eMusic and reading an interesting review of the album “How Shadows Chase the Balance” by Boduf Songs — which is Southampton, England’s Mat Sweet, who “records spare, haunting music based in the traditions of British folk.”
In the eMusic review, Yancey Strickler writes:
“It’s a reference that will matter to maybe twenty people, but all twenty of them will be thrilled by it: Boduf Songs’ gorgeous How Shadows Chase the Balance is an extension of Calla’s Scavengers, a minor but essential folk-based album that casts long glances at rock and electronic music, ultimately settling for a gloomy tone conveying heartache and little more. Why would anyone want to listen to such a thing? We all suffer heartache, too, and with his muffled, languid dourness, Boduf Songs’ Mat Sweet channels our pains and fears, and strums a nice, thick-sounding guitar all the while. Shadows Chase consistently nails those notes without ever seeming to try. Definitely one of the best indie records of 2008.”
As one of the 20 people to get the reference and actually own “Scavengers,” I wanted to post a video for a song off the new Boduf Songs album. As expected, it’s very eerie, dark and spare, but also quite hypnotic and beautiful, in its own unsettling way.
Boduf Songs — “Quiet When Group” (Video)
“Boduf Songs’ music — which suggests British folk’s chilly gloom and black metal’s relentless dread and awe, but is a quietly powerful force unto itself — arrived fully formed on the Boduf Songs EP, and since then Mat Sweet hasn’t had to change his approach much, other than to simplify, simplify, simplify. Sweet doesn’t waste time, words, or sounds on How Shadows Chase the Balance; these are some of his subtlest songs, seemingly crafted from whispers and the barest scraps of guitars as well as the aforementioned shadows. The album is also Sweet’s most polished, cleanly recorded work, which just serves to throw its brooding and dramatic flourishes into even sharper contrast.
… The outstanding “Quiet When Group” must be one of Boduf Songs’ first tracks to feature a straight-ahead beat and heavy bass, both of which add extra gravity to the already formidable pull Sweet’s music exerts. Unsettling and gorgeous, How Shadows Chase the Balance brings Boduf Songs’ darkness closer than ever.”
—Review of “How Shadows Chase the Balance” by Heather Phares, All Music Guide
