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7"
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CR 010EP
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Recorded at Famous Times for a never-released Bert Jansch tribute album, Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning sees The Hanging Stars cover the opening track from Bert's 1974 album L.A Turnaround -- an album hailed at the time for combining Americana with a playful English wistfulness. The Hanging Stars imbue Jansch's song with a mean energy and their own signature cosmic psychedelia. The song ends with Joe Harvey-Whyte's pedal steel sounding closer to a sitar whilst droning and distorted guitars seem to almost collapse in on themselves during a coda that sounds like it cannot bear to stop itself. "The Mountain" sees the band enter entirely different territory. Bookended by Sam Ferman's angular bass line and Paulie Cobra's relentless drumming, what comes between recalls both the darkest sounds of The Doors and the ethereal psychedelia of early Verve, with Luke Barlow's flute puncturing a haze of distorted guitars.
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CD
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CRO 008CD
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London-based folk-psych-country band The Hanging Stars return with their eclectic third studio album, A New Kind Of Sky. Carrying on their exploration of transatlantic psychedelic folk and cosmic country, the new album blends twelve-string, harmony-laden lullabies with soft rock anthems to create a gilded box of bucolic folk-rock. As well as the band's signature wistful pastoral escapism, there are lyrical concerns about the recent past; the systematic division of people, values, facts and humanity in The West in general -- and the UK in particular. The band weave the same thread they have always woven but this time with a more unified vision, creating a kaleidoscopic poncho for these times. The Hanging Stars comprise songwriter, singer and guitarist Richard Olson, Sam Ferman on bass, Paulie Cobra on drums, Patrick Ralla on guitars, keys and vocals, and renowned pedal steel player Joe Harvey-Whyte. Returning guest Collin Hegna from Brian Jonestown Massacre plays an instrument called a Marxophone on "Choir of Criers". They also welcome Sean Read of The Rockingbirds and Dexy's Midnight Runners, who adds horns to "Three Rolling Hills" and "I Was A Stone". The bulk of the recording was done live in the studio at Echozoo in Eastbourne with Dave Lynch. For the first time, the band decided to dive straight in to the recording studio following their German tour in 2018. Having lived in each other's pockets and played their new songs every night, the band were as tight and primed as they could possibly be. There ensued a few, very long days of recording, capturing the essence of the band in their element. The songwriting process was even more collaborative for this album, enhanced by Harvey-White's arrangements and Cobra's harmonies. The biggest difference is that Ferman sings lead on the first single "'(I've Seen) The Summer in Her Eyes", a song about lost love and self-doubt channeled through two-and-a-half minutes of garage pastoralism. The Hanging Stars' debut album Over The Silvery Lake (CRO 003CD, 2016) received plaudits from broadsheets such as The Times and The Guardian. Their second album Songs For Somewhere Else (CRO 005CD, 2017) received critical acclaim from the likes of Uncut and Shindig.
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LP
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CRO 008LP
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LP version. London-based folk-psych-country band The Hanging Stars return with their eclectic third studio album, A New Kind Of Sky. Carrying on their exploration of transatlantic psychedelic folk and cosmic country, the new album blends twelve-string, harmony-laden lullabies with soft rock anthems to create a gilded box of bucolic folk-rock. As well as the band's signature wistful pastoral escapism, there are lyrical concerns about the recent past; the systematic division of people, values, facts and humanity in The West in general -- and the UK in particular. The band weave the same thread they have always woven but this time with a more unified vision, creating a kaleidoscopic poncho for these times. The Hanging Stars comprise songwriter, singer and guitarist Richard Olson, Sam Ferman on bass, Paulie Cobra on drums, Patrick Ralla on guitars, keys and vocals, and renowned pedal steel player Joe Harvey-Whyte. Returning guest Collin Hegna from Brian Jonestown Massacre plays an instrument called a Marxophone on "Choir of Criers". They also welcome Sean Read of The Rockingbirds and Dexy's Midnight Runners, who adds horns to "Three Rolling Hills" and "I Was A Stone". The bulk of the recording was done live in the studio at Echozoo in Eastbourne with Dave Lynch. For the first time, the band decided to dive straight in to the recording studio following their German tour in 2018. Having lived in each other's pockets and played their new songs every night, the band were as tight and primed as they could possibly be. There ensued a few, very long days of recording, capturing the essence of the band in their element. The songwriting process was even more collaborative for this album, enhanced by Harvey-White's arrangements and Cobra's harmonies. The biggest difference is that Ferman sings lead on the first single "'(I've Seen) The Summer in Her Eyes", a song about lost love and self-doubt channeled through two-and-a-half minutes of garage pastoralism. The Hanging Stars' debut album Over The Silvery Lake (CRO 003CD, 2016) received plaudits from broadsheets such as The Times and The Guardian. Their second album Songs For Somewhere Else (CRO 005CD, 2017) received critical acclaim from the likes of Uncut and Shindig.
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CD
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CRO 005CD
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London-based psych-folk-country quintet The Hanging Stars present their second album Songs For Somewhere Else. Taking cues from both sides of the Atlantic, they mainline the dying embers of the early '70s psychedelic folk and cosmic country scenes, transforming them into an energized new sound for modern times. This album follows on from their critically acclaimed 2016 debut Over the Silvery Lake (CRO 003CD), which received praise from The Times, who described it as; "An album with enough of a hazy, sun-dappled charm to make the capital's dreariest weather bearable", as well as Uncut, who proclaimed that it was; "a promising debut from London's The Hanging Stars, who switch deftly between deliciously sentimental Americana and swaggering psychedelia." Their second album is more varied than its predecessor and sees them expanding into new territories whilst continuing to channel an English wistful ethereality grown from American soil. Tracing their inspiration from Dennis Wilson to Gram Parsons and On The Beach-era Neil Young (1974), they equally draw from early gospel soaked Spiritualized, jangle pop, spaghetti western soundtracks, old bossa nova records, and prohibition-era blues. Joining founding members -- songwriter, singer, and guitarist Richard Olson (The See See, Eighteenth Day of May), Sam Ferman on bass, and Paulie Cobra on drums -- were contributions from now permanent members Patrick Ralla (Alan Tyler Show, Edwyn Collins) on guitars, keys and vocals, and Joe Harvey-White (pedal steel, dobro), bringing new perspectives to the band's work. They had a collective attitude to performances on the album, with additional input from US friends Collin Hegna (Federale, Brian Jonestown Massacre), Miranda Lee Richards (on the emotive duet "How I Got This Way"), and Christof Certik (Brian Jonestown Massacre, Winter Flowers), as well as Alison Cotton on viola (Left Outsides, Eighteenth Day Of May), Luke Barlow (Nought) on flute and Thomas Wake on clarinet. Touching on themes of fear of pain, death and failure, the songs strike a rich emotional chord. From the pensive melancholia of album opener "On A Sweet Summer's Day", to the Big Star-tinged lead single "Honeywater" and the gorgeous instrumental "Djupsjön", inspired by the dense southern Swedish pines of Olson's childhood, the album is a varied delight. With this album, The Hanging Stars usher the next phase of their musical development, with Olson's astute lyrical observations and honeyed vocals at the fore, backed by the band's creative musical arrangements. Recorded at Bark Studios with Brian O'Shaughnessey.
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LP
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CRO 005LP
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LP version. London-based psych-folk-country quintet The Hanging Stars present their second album Songs For Somewhere Else. Taking cues from both sides of the Atlantic, they mainline the dying embers of the early '70s psychedelic folk and cosmic country scenes, transforming them into an energized new sound for modern times. This album follows on from their critically acclaimed 2016 debut Over the Silvery Lake (CRO 003CD), which received praise from The Times, who described it as; "An album with enough of a hazy, sun-dappled charm to make the capital's dreariest weather bearable", as well as Uncut, who proclaimed that it was; "a promising debut from London's The Hanging Stars, who switch deftly between deliciously sentimental Americana and swaggering psychedelia." Their second album is more varied than its predecessor and sees them expanding into new territories whilst continuing to channel an English wistful ethereality grown from American soil. Tracing their inspiration from Dennis Wilson to Gram Parsons and On The Beach-era Neil Young (1974), they equally draw from early gospel soaked Spiritualized, jangle pop, spaghetti western soundtracks, old bossa nova records, and prohibition-era blues. Joining founding members -- songwriter, singer, and guitarist Richard Olson (The See See, Eighteenth Day of May), Sam Ferman on bass, and Paulie Cobra on drums -- were contributions from now permanent members Patrick Ralla (Alan Tyler Show, Edwyn Collins) on guitars, keys and vocals, and Joe Harvey-White (pedal steel, dobro), bringing new perspectives to the band's work. They had a collective attitude to performances on the album, with additional input from US friends Collin Hegna (Federale, Brian Jonestown Massacre), Miranda Lee Richards (on the emotive duet "How I Got This Way"), and Christof Certik (Brian Jonestown Massacre, Winter Flowers), as well as Alison Cotton on viola (Left Outsides, Eighteenth Day Of May), Luke Barlow (Nought) on flute and Thomas Wake on clarinet. Touching on themes of fear of pain, death and failure, the songs strike a rich emotional chord. From the pensive melancholia of album opener "On A Sweet Summer's Day", to the Big Star-tinged lead single "Honeywater" and the gorgeous instrumental "Djupsjön", inspired by the dense southern Swedish pines of Olson's childhood, the album is a varied delight. With this album, The Hanging Stars usher the next phase of their musical development, with Olson's astute lyrical observations and honeyed vocals at the fore, backed by the band's creative musical arrangements. Recorded at Bark Studios with Brian O'Shaughnessey.
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CD
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CRO 003CD
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London-based psych folk outfit The Hanging Stars present their debut album, Over the Silvery Lake. Blending folk pastorals with swampy '60s Americana, they sound like the missing link between the California desert sun and the gray skies of London. Fronted by London-based songwriter, singer, and guitarist Richard Olson (The See See, The Eighteenth Day of May), The Hanging Stars are essentially a loose collective of people who weave together a blissed-out psychedelic tapestry. In 2015, the band released two critically acclaimed 7"s via The Great Pop Supplement; three tracks from these releases appear on Over the Silvery Lake. The Line of Best Fit premiered "Golden Vanity" and declared, "you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd just unearthed a rare deep cut from the late sixties / early seventies boom of psychedelia infused Americana," while The Guardian called "The House on The Hill" "a hazy, desert-dream of a song, nicely sharpened with steely-eyed guitars, Mersey-laced harmonies and just a whiff of the Gun Club." The Hanging Stars picked up a good amount of support at BBC Radio 6 Music, and "The House on the Hill" scored a much-coveted 10/10 from John Robb on Steve Lamacq's Roundtable. There are a number of allusions to nature and the weather on the album, inspired in part by the contrasting surroundings in which it was produced. The band's fascination with Americana led them to record some of the material in the US, laying down some of the parts at Battle Tapes in Nashville (Lambchop, Paperhead) and at VisionQuest Studios in Los Angeles with Rob Campanella. Based on Campanella's work with The Quarter After, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Beachwood Sparks, and The Tyde, the band knew he was a perfect match to capture their sound. They even had San Franciscan legend Christof Certik step in on lead guitar for a couple of tracks. Following the LA recordings, a trip to the Californian desert provided the core notion of what they wanted to produce; a shard of light onto which they clung while recording the rest of the album in the significantly more rain-soaked atmosphere of Walthamstow, London, under the watchful eye of Brian O'Shaughnessy at Bark Studio (The Clientele, Comet Gain, My Bloody Valentine). As the band explain, "Ultimately we hope you can hear both the sand and the rain in this record."
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