The new one from Sir Richard Bishop, Oneiric Forumulary, is bracing and boldly out of the realm of the ordinary. This is outsider music, in a sense, but also something approaching the style we'd call modern classical. The release, out on Drag City tomorrow, is the kind of thing that will require some attentive listening in spots, but you'll be rewarded.
"Celerity" is folk rock goodness, while the unwieldy "Mit's Linctus Codeine Co." skirts close to something by The Durutti Column. Elsewhere, "Graveyard Wanderers" is direct and unsettling, while the percussive "Dust Devils" progresses on the back of a hook made by bagpipes and tablas. It's unlike anything else you'll be grooving to during quarantine times, I can tell you that. Some of this, like "Vellum" and "Black Sara" is downright lovely stuff, folk-y riffs mixed with dark undercurrents, while the epic "The Coming of the Rats" marries that sort of slightly conventional material with Fripp-like lines criss-crossing the material. For every moment here that feels familiar, Sir Richard Bishop is likely to offer up one that will surprise the heck out of you.
Oneiric Forumulary is out tomorrow via Drag City.
More details on Sir Richard Bishop via the official Facebook page.
[Photo: Henrietta's Eye]