Mikel Dimmick Spiral Joy Band: Little Sparrow

Featuring members of Pelt and hailing from Virginia, Spiral Joy Band returns with another solid collection of analog drones and improvisations. The band blends up its intoxicating stew using fiddles, gongs, singing bowls, harmonium, srutis, spiral cymbal, crank whistle, flute, bells, and banjo sticks with "No overdubs, No amplification, No effects." Put together, these elements yield something that is at times very familiar to the ears and in other moments like something from another planet. With music based loosely in eastern traditions, rural American sounds, and experimental improvisation, the Spiral Joy Band creates something quite striking.

The biggest standouts on the album are the droning fiddles, as they cut most prominently through the mix and set the tone for all four pieces. On the opener, "Ridgeline Currents," the violins trade slow-rolling riffs and swirl above a background of cymbals, singing bowls, and harmonium. The next two tracks continue in a similar direction, but both yield their own surprises. For example, in the final stretch of "Flowers in the Dooryard," the band creates a powerful wall of drones with fiddles, flutes, and harmonium that grows and swells into something very intense, yet entirely pretty. For the title track, the band makes things a bit uglier, filling the mix with squealing and scraping fiddles. In the background, banjo plucks away, the harmonium continues its steady drone, and the piercing sound of singing bowls occasionally rises to the surface. The harsher sounds of this piece are a great contrast two the preceding two and do well to illustrate the dynamism of the group. The closer, "Tolling Over the Rocks," is unique, as it was recorded as the band stood in the water at midnight at Hatteras Island, North Carolina. To the sound of crashing waves, the band added their own singing bowls and gongs to create a beautiful, meditative finale for their album.

Throughout "Little Sparrow," it's amazing to think that such rich, layered, and hypnotic sounds come from such a no-frills recording process. Really, it enriches the whole experience to ponder how something so stunning and dynamic could come from such humble origins. Of course, this is all a testament to the musicianship of the Spiral Joy Band, as they make the most of their chosen sounds. "Little Sparrow" is truly great, but is also a limited edition, so do yourself a favor and grab this one soon.

-- Matt Blackall, Foxy Digitalis