The album opens with ‘Divided By Animal’ which sets the tone for the album, a finger-picked paean to a simpler life and Weaver’s organic personal philosophy. It’s full of lines like “Whatever happens that’s all I ever want“ and ”Not rich by what I own but rich by what I let go.“ The second track, ‘Rambling Bones,’ follows a similar thread, opening with:

”The hills look like different kinds of fur in the morning
dirty wool-torn clouds blowing through the chinks in my day
neck-deep in the brambles holding pieces of the beast
bring the dogs to the river where the sea used to be.“

The song is the story of a wandering man, of a man who’s life is governed not by the economy or advertising agencies but by the rhythms of the natural world, a man ”out there looking for the last blank space on the map“. It reminded me strongly of a novel I read recently, The Road Home by Jim Harrison, and one character in particular (named Nelse) who wanders around America, living off the land and spending his days doing surveys of the local wildlife. Lots of Weaver’s lyrics seem incredibly relevant to the book, even when he isn’t describing the natural world. The line ”Freckles on her shoulders like birds on a deer / there’s nothing she won’t tell you after two sips of beer“ is especially apt as the only thing that can rival birds and plants for Nelse’s attention is the influence of a certain young woman.

The fourth track, ‘Dear Brown Earth’, is another stand-out, beginning with the ambient chattering of birds and the line ”Some days I go waking with the dog just to go where a dog wants to go.“ The song sounds like a frosty morning, you can almost see the watery light falling through gathering clouds and feel winter on the wind as dry browns leaves blow in drifts. ‘Low Ride’, the final track, is perhaps the best of all. An epic of over eight minutes, it has a wonderfully gentle and reflective cadence, flickering with firelight and the warmth of loved ones. It’s really, really beautiful and one of my favourite songs of the year so far.

”For you I’d burn a house down
I’d break a star from the sky
snow in the snow oaks
come sit by the fire
we’ll talk about the old days
and whittle out the night
get dizzy in the treetops
while the coyotes cry“

To support the new album, Weaver is embarking on a national bicycle tour entitled It’s All the River, in which he will perform at farms, bookstores, bicycle shops and small music venues. The tour will see him follow the course of the Mississippi, from Minneapolis to New Orleans. He aims to use volunteer projects (such as planting native species, prairie restorations and river cleanups), along with songs and poetry to connect audiences to the river and surrounding land. Check the list of tour dates if you’re interested in catching a show,

I’ll leave you with some words from the man himself, taken from his micro-site set up by Banjo Brothers:

“I Would Rather Be a Buffalo came from the thin places, in the forests I wander and the cities I ride. On most days there is a few feet of space between this world and the spirits, the places where I found I Would Rather Be a Buffalo were worn down to an inch or less. I’m willing to risk sentimentality or an over sincere jest to say these things, to preserve the rivers and box canyons, the needlework light in the tall pines, and the blank spaces on the map for wolves, bears and my heart to wander.”

You can buy I Would Rather Be a Buffalo via Hymie’s Records.

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A lot of what I want to say about Asheville’s Wes Tirey and his latest EP, I Stand Among Trees, has already been said this year about Small Houses and John Moreland, and I find myself trying to avoid painting them as slight variations of the same thing, some identikit brand of man with guitar. This would be extraordinarily unfair, sort of like criticising Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy because they both use a pen and paper to share their stories.

The literary comparison is no coincidence – I Stand Among Trees is a literate EP, a collection of atmospheric and evocative songs that owe as much to the American masters of writing as they do to Dylan and Van Zandt.

This fantastic interview with Hearth Music gives an insight into the writing process for a few of the songs. It not only confirms my original thoughts but also giving a new point of view, especially on ‘Wild Beasts’ where Tirey’s citation of McCarthy’s Blood Meridian (one of my favourite books, like, ever) takes the track on to a whole new level of bare desolation, conjuring a hostile and empty landscape of insects and dust.

I Stood Among Trees by Wes Tirey

Indeed the whole EP can be viewed through this bloodly lens. Consider ‘Final Resting Place’:

“The concrete is a-crumbling
The blind man is a-mumbling
Everyone is running for their life”

…and:

“The drummer’s are a-drumming
Even Lucifer’s a-running
I saw him from the corner of my eye

Maybe Jesus is a-coming
Wouldn’t that be something
But who could live by such a lie”

You can almost hear the hooves of Glanton’s men, the terrible breathing of Judge Holden. This really is stirring stuff.

Obviously the EP isn’t about cowboys, but hopefully those who have read the book know what I mean (I told you I was struggling to sound original). Anyway, With I Stood Among Trees, Tirey claims his rightful place among my favourite folk artists this year, and I will certainly be keeping an eye on what he does next.

You can get the EP on Bandcamp for whatever price you think is appropriate. or you can get a lovely physical copy for $5 (also check out Tirey’s Home Demos while you are there). If you are a fan, there is also a very interesting Indiegogo called ‘Wesley in Italy‘ where you can get nice things in return for your coin that will hopefully send Tirey on tour next January around various Italian towns and cities.

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I listen to (and write about) quite a lot of what I would describe as folk music and I got to thinking that maybe I could put together a second volume of ‘Lost And Found’ which covered artists that could fit into the category of folk and roots music. Here’s where I enter a disclaimer: I am not an expert in this area, more an interested amateur. This collection of songs does not reflect a definitive collection of any one genre or historical period of music. Instead I have chosen a collection of old songs that I feel have huge influences on the folk music that followed, from Dylan and Cohen to the host of new artists we have covered here at Wake The Deaf.

It features country and bluegrass, gospel and Appalachian mountain music. There’s something here for everyone, from Roscoe Holcomb’s easygoing rambling song ‘Roll On Buddy’ to ‘Down In The Willow Garden’, a murder ballad by Texas Hadden and her brother Hobart Smith. ‘Shine On Me’ is an impassioned and foot-stomping chorus by Ernest Phipps and His Holiness Singers, while ‘I Wish My Baby Was Born’ by Dillard Chandler is as sorrowful an a cappella recording as you’re ever likely to hear. ‘I Am A Poor Pilgrim Of Sorrow’ by The Old Regular Baptists is perhaps my favourite track of all. It’s an incredibly intense congregational hymnody from deep within Appalachian coal mining country. The song has an insistent, almost ominous, drive and continues to build in burning fervour. Mumford and Sons this ain’t.

I urge you to give this mix a listen. I’ve really enjoyed putting it together and constantly found myself amazed at the quality of the songs, some of which were written well over a hundred years ago (although some were recorded much later). If you’re a fan of modern folk music, of the legends of the sixties revival, of the Coen’s “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, or even works of Southern Gothic literature by authors such as Faulkner and O’Connor, I’m willing to bet you’ll like this mixtape.

TRACKLIST:

1. Roll On Buddy – Roscoe Holcomb
2. Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting – Rev. J.M. Gates
3. I’ll Be Washed – The Carolina Tar Heels
4. East Virgina – Buell Kazee
5. I Wish I Was A Mole In The Ground – Bascom Lamar Lunsford
6. Big Rock Candy Mountain – Harry McClintock
7.  In The Shadow Of Clinch Mountain – The Carter Family
8. Big Eyed Rabbit – Matokie Slaughter
9. Drunkard’s Special – Coley Jones
10. Shine On Me – Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers
11. Down In The Willow Garden – Texas Gladden & Hobart Smith
12. I Wish My Baby Was Born – Dillard Chandler
13. Jonah In The Wilderness – Henry Thomas
14. Amazing Grace – Horton Barker
15. I Am A Poor Pilgrim Of Sorrow – Old Regular Baptists

The links embedded in the artist names do not link to webpages or Facebook accounts like in our regular mixes, instead I have linked to a picture of the artist in question, just to give you a better idea of who you are listening to as you play the mix.

If this collection of songs piques your interest, then Smithsonian Folkways is a great resource, a nonprofit record label that strives to ensure the conservation of musical history and cultural diversity. Several of the songs featured above can be found on compilations put out by the label, so I would encourage you to purchase if you like what you hear.

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