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Songs of Love and Loss

by Sharron Kraus

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1.
Gallows Song / Gallows Hill 05:37
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2.
The Frozen Lake 04:37
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3.
The Tree of Knowledge 03:55
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4.
Come To Me 03:05
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5.
Song and Dance of the Bees 04:34
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6.
The Pale Prisoner 04:30
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7.
Impasse 06:16
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8.
Song of the Hanged Man 05:30
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9.
Angelica Caraway 03:58
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10.
Still 03:16
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11.
The Fastest Train 03:40
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12.
Eternal Love 02:41
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13.
Murder of Crows 02:30
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about

Download comes with jpgs of original artwork and sleevenotes.

the second album from oxford's fabulous sharron kraus is a wonderful follow-up to the haunting debut 'beautiful twisted'. recorded with jeffrey alexander (iditarod / black forest / black sea) this moves from traditional folk (in a shirley collins, anne briggs style) to her own songs and enchants all the way. an immaculate album from a major new singer.
Rough Trade

Sharron Kraus' sophomore effort Songs of Love and Loss follows and diverges from the path she carved out on Beautiful Twisted. Echoes of Shirley & Dolly Collins flit about, but there is no derivative strain in the proceedings. Kraus' more plaintive voice is the perfect balance for her songs, which are laden with the kind of gloomy spirit that drives people to dwell on love's passing and absence rather than its gifts — or perhaps, as evidenced by Kraus' tomes here, this wondrously dark creativity is its gift in an offhanded way. The album was recorded in Oxford with her band that includes Colin Fletcher on bass, Jon Fletcher on banjo and guitar, and cellist and fiddle player Jane Griffiths as welll as a number of stalwart guests including Jeffrey Alexander and Jon Boden. Kraus is both heartbreakingly sweet and sad and deliciously grim, such as on the harrowing "Song of the Hanged Man," where tropes and stereotypes explode without flinching and move into a quiet but tense and cacophonous melody adorned with squeezebox, banjo, and shimmering, clanging steel noises that is delightfully unsettling. This is countered with the lonesome love ballad of abandonment and grief done to a perversely sprightly tempo and bright melody. "Impasse" is a testament to determination no matter the cost and its spare, minor-key manner calculates that cost as very high indeed. The album's opener, "Gallows Song," is a traditional Appalachian ballad that Kraus weds to her own response, "Gallows Hill," keeping its integrity while extrapolating its spirit and putting it into a new context. Songs of Love and Loss is another winner; it may not be as startling as its predecessor since listeners have a frame of reference, but in its textures, dynamics, and sheer minstrelsy, it is even stronger.
All Music Guide

credits

released March 26, 2004

Originally released on CD on Camera Obscura Records.

All songs written by Sharron Kraus, except 'Gallows Song', trad. arr. Sharron Kraus.

Sharron Kraus: vocals, guitar, banjo, clarinet, whistles, piano, hurdy gurdy, omnichord and percussion.
Jane Griffiths: fiddle on 2, 9, 13 and viola on 5.
Colin Fletcher: upright bass and acoustic bass.
Jon Fletcher: harmonica; guitar on 9, 11, 13; banjo on 1 and vocals
on 9.
Cameron Grote: drums on 11.
Jeffrey Alexander: electric guitar on 10, 11.
Jon Boden: fiddle on 3, 6, 8.
Giles Lewin: violin on 7.
William Schaff: drums on 1, 2, 5, 13.
Alec K. Redfearn: accordion on 9.

Recorded by Rich Haines, Jon Fletcher, Miriam Goldberg and Sharron Kraus.
Mixed by Jeffrey Alexander and Sharron Kraus.

Cover art by William Schaff.

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Sharron Kraus Oxford, UK

Musical collaborator / songwriter / improviser.
'Pagan radiophonica meets medieval balladry’
'sensual spellcraft’
'Floating freaky fun of the highest order'
'oddly comforting avant-garde masterpiece'
Labels: Sunstone, Ghost Box, Clay Pipe, Feeding Tube, Cardinal Fuzz, Second Language ... more

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