Time to rummage once more in former folk-singer Carl M. Knott’s curious world of sound. As boycalledcrow his latest intriguing collection ‘the sprawl’ sees him working wonders from a trove of sonic bric-a-brac, shaping instrumental pieces which flit between the ambient and folktronic but rest in their own destinations. After ‘Nightmare Folk Art’s looping early music and the enchanting hauntological pop of 2024’s ‘eyetrees’, ’the sprawl’ finds Knott setting controls for an edgy, psychedelic journey. The textures may be less homely, the vibe less gentle but boycalledcrow’s new imaginings create other dimensions which you need to explore.
The shoegazing symphonia of temple signals that ‘the sprawl’ thrives on a more expansive soundscape. The layered synth orchestration builds to massed voice proportions and hints at a familiar electronica trajectory but no, this is boycalledcrow at work. He ensures there’s little time to get cosey as the track takes discordant twists and turns then slips into a kind of rustic new age skip.
Drum beats are often central to ‘the sprawl’s atmosphere, hinting at spooky rituals and folkloric secrets. The ceremonial stomp and gurgling drone of godhead echoes with Whicker Man-ish intensity while on the album’s title track crisp rhythms ripple hypnotically. A flow of shimmering reverse tapes and shunting Basinski loops, this tune builds momentum coaxed on by some subtle bass-synth syncopation.
Nothing is as it seems though. The rhythms which boycalledcrow introduces are part of the description rather than a hook to grab the listener. They bring tension and weight to the tunes. On dead leaves a DJ Shadow-esque swing gives the cycle of oscillating loops and muffled voices a real edge. dreamwave develops more deceptively, moving from tangled synth scribbles to a stretch of subtle skank and adding anticipation before the final disintegration. There are even hints of post rock heft about the closing track orb, where a groaning drone swirls around the crisp snare thwacks then skulks down with a dubby sub-bass lurch.
boycalledcrow’s music on this album doesn’t completely suppress the delicate touch that’s been so evident in much of his electro-acoustic back catalogue. The wriggling cut-ups in mantis man soon calm to a climbing chord sequence and soft tumbling drum patterns. It’s a soothing resolve which echoes a Talk Talk moment. Sombre melody also underpins the starry ambience of brittle bones and the seductive trip-hop of the celestial zephyr. This tune rolls on purposefully trying to ignore the intrusion of random chants which Knott mischievously patches in.
Such unexpected tangents instil an unsettling sense of jeopardy throughout ‘the sprawl’. Partly inspired by Knott’s fascination with the unexplained and impacted by the loss a loved-one during recording, the music here is necessarily restless. bone eater merges a yawning drone with John Carpenter soundtrack strings, Durutti Column guitar tingles with a grumble of reverse tapes. These unlikely combinations might seem forced in anybody else’s hands but not so with boycalledcrow. On ‘the sprawl’ he blends his ever-shifting ideas and influences to create some unique music but more importantly he manages to lure the listener into a space that opens up the imagination.
Get your copy of ‘the sprawl‘ by boycalledcrow from your local record shop or direct from Mortality Tables HERE
