Old-Time Mountain Music & Other Songs [LP]

"Never Met A Stranger's Jeremy Drummond and David Poolman are multimedia artists whose works span drawing, printmaking, photography and film. For 'Old Time Mountain Music & Other Songs', the duo have gathered sonic vignettes embodying the living history of Appalachian folk music. "Galax" takes us on a quick dip in and out of a barn dance. "Flying Clouds" traces a familiar form with acoustic guitar before plunging the microphone underwater. "Down On A Lonesome-Heavy Hearted Hog" plays like a dusty 45 with a noisy skipping groove, making for a somewhat harrowing meta-listening experience on vinyl. Traditional songs are given disparate treatments. "lduema" is sung by a rough-edged vocal ensemble, while "Beulah Land/Betty" is hammered out by a power trio. Released in an edition of 500 with photographs and other archival materials, Old Time Mountain Music is an artefact and object that collaborates with the past in order to document it for the future." -The Wire 422 April 2019