The Marble Downs

The Marble Downs

The combination of Scotland psychedelic folksters Trembling Bells and Will Oldham's alt-country/art-damage Appalachia ensures an album that's impossible to predict at the onset. Where will this marriage take us? The duets between Lavinia Blackwall and Oldham range from sympathetic and in-sync to acrimonious. "Ain't Nothing Wrong with a Little Longing" is a match that sounds like Fairport Convention and The Incredible String Band being pinned to the ground by an outlaw garage band. Bakersfield country hides in the piano-laced "I Can Tell You're Leaving." The a cappella "My Husband's Got No Courage in Him" seems to fall under "field recording" status, while Oldham's classic "Riding" gets a makeover that takes it out of its outback lonesome travels and airmails it to San Francisco circa 1967. A cover of Robin Gibb's "Lord Bless All" turns gloomy and foreboding. The Marble Downs could be a challenge to those who've landed here by accident; however, fans of both camps surely know to expect lots of moody meandering.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada