Agalloch “The White” CD

"The White" is Agalloch's long-awaited follow-up/companion to 2004's "The Grey" (also released by Vendlus Records), and all of the material was written and recorded between 2004—2007. Initially I reacted very positively to "The Grey", but in retrospect I have to admit that some of that may simply have been because I'm an absolutely huge, adoring fan of this band, because that particular EP hasn't really stood the test of time as strongly for me with repeated listens. That being said, "The White" should fare much better, as it's a longer, more involved, more substantial release that—while billed as "a collection of dark folk and ambient work"—feels much more robust and complete to me. The bulk of the material is instrumental, and in addition to the usual suspects of acoustic/electric guitars and bass you'll find baritone guitar, ebow, percussion (not typical drums), accordion, synths, piano, Jew's harp, Peruvian ceremonial horn, goat horn, and samples/field recordings scattered throughout the compositions—so we're not talking about your typical instrumental tracks here. Though, at the same time, the experimentation is tactfully handled, so despite some peculiar instrumentation, there's also no need to worry about anything going off the deep end. There's really only one full-on "ambient" track ("Hollow Stone"), and it's quite nice; while the masterful "Birch White", especially, should appeal to fans of the "apocalyptic folk" of groups like Death in June or the like, though honestly the quality of the vocals and musicianship is so far beyond the vast majority of those types of acts that the track rises to a whole new league, as far as I'm concerned. But then again, it seems that most everything Agalloch does falls into that category to some degree, as this is yet another exceptional release amongst their already impressive discography. I wasn't sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised, if not blown away, by the quality and emotion of the EP as a whole. Well done, and highly recommended, as always...

Agalloch "Sowilo Rune"

The release is (Was?) limited to only 2,000 copies (double the pressing of "The Grey"), and from what I understand it sold out from the label during the pre-order stage!? So... apparently this one might be tricky to get your hands on, as it was only officially released last week, and doesn't seem to have filtered out to any distributors yet. So... sadly, I can't supply any purchasing information. I imagine if you check The End Records or Vendlus regularly (in case the latter stumbles upon any leftovers), you might be able to get your hands on one of the final copies.