PRETTY LIGHTNING - CD THERE ARE WITCHES IN THE WOODS

Popis - THERE ARE WITCHES IN THE WOODS:
28th March 2012 sees the universally renowned Fonal Records break new ground with its first ever release by a band based outside its native Finland. Pretty Lightnings debut LP proper (following the 2008 tour only CDR released by a tiny Mississippi-based noise label), There Are Witches In The Woods could also be seen as a departure stylistically - although in truth, such finely honed aesthetics still comfortably align it with the Fonal roster. Pretty Lightning was formed in 2007 by two childhood friends Christian Berghoff and Sebastian Haas, who grew up together in a small town in Southwest Germany, before relocating to Saarbruecken, a slightly bigger small town. In essence a raw psychedelic-blues duo that on the surface could be seen as kindred spirits to the likes of Wooden Shjips or Moon Duo, Pretty Lightning also appear to mirror a freak-folk sensibility found in the likes of Sunburned Hand of the Man and their Stateside compatriots. But they also reflect their closer geographic roots - echoing the communal, ritualistic krautrock of Amon Duul II or perhaps the primitivism of Swedens International Harvester (both Berghoff and Haas are also part of the Saarlouis-based Datashock collective). But if such comparisons serve to place the band in some kind of loose context, they should not undermine such a heartfelt outcome, nor steer the listener away from the bands melodic leanings - There Are Witches in the Woods delivers hooks and harmonies on a grand scale. Recorded in Autumn 2010, the album is the result of the band shutting itself away in a cavernous room to capture the breadth of their sonic vision. Formed around a crux of drums, vocals and a variety of guitars, the arrangements are bolstered by shruti-drones, organ loops and theremins, giving a sense of space and scope to eleven sweet, succinct chapters, and the album as a whole.