Blood Dancer by Crown Larks

"Blood Dancer begins with Lorraine Bailey playing a suspenseful Rhodes bass groove that takes you under. When it breaks you feel levitated into a desert sky on horse back. Bill Miller settles the pegasus in a steady sky gallop as Peter Gillette floats quivering trumpet melodies through the cirrocumulus. Jack Bouboushian's voice eases into the mix 'Watch it unfold, what do you say?'.

I say it's funny you ask, because I'm totally hooked as the 'vultures' arrive. A mesmerizing guitar crawl creeps as that back beat rolls and twists on the toms, heavy crash hits and grabs. Only half way through track one and my mind unwound eagerly to see the Blood Dancer dream unfold.

Crown Larks layer their creative minds into one elaborate but cohesive sound sword. The tool box is deep as the Larks use a variety of sounds that warmly slice at their dreamy atmosphere. Gillete (trumpet) and Kevin Ohlau (saxophone) go at it on the angular 'The Timebound Bloos". The dizzy Gillete runs stomps and rears to the more calm growling Sax melodies until the last 20 seconds where Ohlau really charges hard with a run that turned the lions ear.

Jack Bouboushian's foggy voice repeats "come closer" as Miller rolls into a steady groove that gets me noodle dancing on 'Blood Mirage'. The psych groove and layers bring to mind other psychers CAVE or WUME, but as Bouboushian screams and Gillete rips you have a completely original beast here.

'Fog, Doves' starts lazily. It's meditative as the description of fires and flex faces are described you realize you may be meditating to the beauty of the earth's collapse. Guitar noise, electric piano and flute melodies accompany Bailey's strong vocal performance.

Bill Miller is a bloody beast behind the kit; cracking, splashing, rolling, and eventually settling into comfortable strides all over Blood Dancer, notably 'Defector'. The variety of creative drumming on this record will really appeal to those learning how to play and also to that hot rod scratch thats been revving for years.

"Chapels" is a catchy retro get stoned and cruise jam, that helps you realize death is just the end, but everything leading up can be beautiful. At the 2:20 mark is where it all gets pretty funky, and where I believe a clever ode to Jesus Christ Superstar's 'What's The Buzz" happens.

"Overgrown" closes out the masterpiece that is Blood Dancer. Bouboushian strums and sings about awaiting a rebirth lamp side. "Maybe I'll jump ship" he says as Bailey bounces, Miller builds, Ohlau flutters flute streams, and Gillete flugehorns into a thick wall created by phased out guitar rips along the down beat. The worldly or otherworldly sounds are interpreted through the Blood Dancer's movements that is Crown Larks.

This is a beautiful piece of art that every Already Dead collector should own. The album was recorded to 2 inch tape by Nick Broste, mixed by Brian Sulpizio, and Mastered by Carl Saff which is an impressive set of ears on these songs. It makes all the sense in the world that Josh Tabbia would tell me it's the best sounding tape he's dubbed for ADT."

- Anthony Focareto, Already Dead Tapes, 2015

Tracklist

1.	Gambian Blue Wave	5:54

2.	The Timebound Bloos	3:11

3.	Blood Mirage	5:54

4.	Fog, Doves	5:03

5.	Defector	6:16

6.	Chapels	4:49

7.	Overgrown	7:50

Credits

released April 7, 2015

License