THE HAUNTED GENERATION
BOB FISCHER ROUNDS UP THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE PARALLEL WORLDS OF POPULAR HAUNTOLOGY
“The story of Bill Russo and his dog stands out,” says Mombi Yuleman, with a shudder. “They were taking a walk at night, when a short hairy creature – a ‘pukwudgie’ – beckoned them to come closer. It seems to be a direct and intentional connection between our world and theirs…”
He’s talking about the curious tales attached to the “Bridgewater Triangle”, a swampy region of south Massachusetts where all manner of nasties lurk amid the trees. Bigfoot, UFOs, even phantom trucks… all have been sighted, and Yuleman’s excellent new album, Beneath Bridgewater, combines dark ambience, “found” audio recordings and the fictional narrative of a missing motorist to shine a tentative light through the mists. “There have been many missing persons cases in the Triangle, and I wanted the story of the album to build on those,” he explains. “So in 1982, a man vanishes after picking up a hitchhiker. His car is later found at Freetown Fall River State Park. After the authorities fail to come up with anything, the man’s uncle gathers a search team to try to find him. In the attempt, they become just as lost…” The album, thankfully, is easier to find: visit spunoutofcontrol.bandcamp.com.
Watching the skies a little closer to home is Kemper Norton, whose new record Estrenyon is “a concept album about the locations of historic Cornish UFO sightings”. A soothing collection of drones and lilting piano, it boldly includes a 14-minute ambient suite inspired by the flying red boat spotted over Morwenstow in 1888. It’s available from zonawatusa. bandcamp.com. And similarly immersed in rum south-westerly doings are Josh Day-Jones and Emlyn Bainbridge, recording as Orbury Common. Their LP
The Traditional Dance of Orbury Common is a splendid mish-mish of hip-hop beats, occult rituals and what sometimes sounds like the local Morris dancers on a boozy all-dayer. Head to orburycommon.bandcamp.com and keep your pork scratchings clutched firmly to your chest.
Equally not averse to the odd occult ritual are Meadowsilver, whose affecting second album – the pragmatically titled II – is a collection of ethereal acidfolk. This spooky supergroup comprise Stephen Stannard of The Rowan Amber Mill, Grey Malkin of The Hare and the Moon and Gayle “Pefkin” Brogan of Scottish folk duo Burd Ellen, whose exquisite vocals drift elegantly across psychedelic soundscapes. “You’ll find me in Old Queensferry, where once a year I walk free,” she sings on ‘Garland Queens and Old Straw Bears’, a celebration of the town’s famous Burry Man… and the nature spirits that drift unfettered through British folklore. The album is released on 1 June by millersounds.co.uk.
Fancy a wet Tuesday afternoon in front of the telly instead, though? The Sound of Science is essentially Dean Honer – once of Top 10 hitmakers All Seeing
I – and folktronica wizard Kevin Pearce, and their self-titled album is a gloriously authentic homage to a golden age of BBC Schools programmes. “The oxygen we breathe comes from plants on land and sea…” sings guest vocalist Liza Violet on opening track ‘Photosynthesis (Love The Green Machines)’, accompanied by a welter of squelchy analogue synths. Take your dinner money to castlesinspace.bandcamp.com. And once you’ve broken up, check out The Scenic Route, the second album by library music connoisseurs The Pattern Forms. Here, Ghost Box and Clay Pipe regular Cate Brooks joins forces with Ed Macfarlane and Edd Gibson, stalwarts of St Albans indie rockers Friendly Fires. Sumptuous piano melodies and swelling strings – augmented by the mellifluous harp of new recruit Tom Moth – summon wistful memories of BBC2 test cards and the languorous torpor of Whitsun half term. It’s available from thepatternforms.bandcamp.com.
Meanwhile Alexander McCloughlin, rummaging in his late parents’ loft, has uncovered an intriguing mystery: a box of cassettes and “paranormal magazines” seemingly once belonging to a woman called Hannah, whose full identity remains tantalisingly elusive. “The tapes have TV programmes recorded on them but it’s just dialogue so I’ve never been able to identify anything,” he says. “There are also some whispered conversations, but they’re lost in the tape hiss…” There are crackly piano and guitar recitals on there too, and the reclusive McCloughlin has assembled these analogue treasures into
British Cryptids, an album released under his nom-deplume, Aux Luna.
British Cryptids, of course, also being the title of an unbroadcast 1970s TV series for schools, uploaded to Youtube last year (FT410:65) after being – ahem – uncovered by a record label called Whinny Moor. Who, curiously, have also released the Aux Luna LP. McCloughlin admits taking inspiration from the programme, but denies involvement. “I just sampled the narration from British Cryptids and used that as the album title,” he shrugs. Those seeking to trace the connection between the McCloughlin family attic and the “Hereford Twiggywitch” should visit auxluna.bandcamp.com, and possibly keep an eye open for stray pukwudgies lurking behind the water tank.
Visit www.hauntedgeneration.co.uk, or find me on Twitter… @bob_fischer