Category:
Folk

Try if you like:
Angus Macniece, Popul Vuh, Sir Richard Bishop

•   The Wide Eyed Fox

Had John Fahey gone with the Beatles to see the Maharishi in 1968, they might have jammed on something that sounded like Stare of Dawn. There are all sorts of good and bad sounds that pop into mind when thinking about such a collaboration, and The Family Elan deliver both without irony, and, often, with power.

 

A Nifty Takoma style propels tunes like “All Around” and “Cascade Danse of Airs” at least until the lute kicks in. The vocals drone more heavily than the music, which often sounds like gypsy Jethro Tull as often as raga rock. Essentially The Family Elan is one Scot Chris Hladowski, and is a project based on Greek and Kurdish devotional music.

 

It is risky to explore spiritual themes deeply these days, especially with lyrics. As if the current climate wasn’t that comfortable with the mystical (or at least, with religion) trying to express the deeply inexpressible in words is always a crap shoot. That is why some of the most effective spiritual music—Bach, Flamenco, Free Jazz—is mostly instrumental. The Family Elan keeps it mostly instrumental too, and while the occasional lyrics sometimes smack of the precious, they are also short and prayer-like, which gives them some power.

 

Overall, if you can get past your initial reaction to some of the trappings, you’ll find a powerful deeply felt exploration of the spiritual and ecstatic in sound. Daring and rewarding.