Artist: Yoke Shire Album: The Witching Hour (2007) Label: Zygo Records Website: http://www.yokeshire.com Reviewer: Bill Knispel

Track List: DISC 1 1) Full Moon Rising (4:21) 2) Spiral Dance (3:21) 3) Passage Upstairs (3:17) 4) Shiver (6:37) 5) Triskelion (7:50) 6) Widow’s Walk (2:03) 7) The Witching Hour (6:25) 8) A Myriad of Moons (8:29) DISC 2 1) Dream Tea (16:00) 2) Midnight Chimes (7:07) 3) Again Midnight Chimes (8:29) 4) Damiana (3:19) 5) Bard of the North Woods (3:44)) It’s difficult to imagine, as I look at snow on the ground and listen to the wind whipping and howling, but it isn’t quite winter yet. I open this way, because the focus of today’s review, The Witching Hour by Massachusetts prog band Yoke Shire, is about as solid an Autumn album as you are going to find this side of Jethro Tull’s mid-1970’s folk output. Loads of acoustic textures, double tracked vocals, and liberal dosings of flute join together to weave an addictive musical spell across 13 solid songs totaling just over 80 minutes. Yoke Shire has been together in one form or another for the better part of 17 years. Now pared back to a duo featuring brothers Craig and Brian Herlihy, Yoke Shire has carved itself a comfortable niche with a sound that is as folky as it is spacey, focusing on tightly composed tracks with equal emphasis on melodics and musicianship. The Herlihy’s fluency on a veritable cornucopia of musical instruments ensures that the right musical voice is present when needed; rather than getting by with a keyboard line where a mandolin is needed, the mandolin takes the part. With music as earthy and woodsy as that on The Witching Hour, this is a welcome addition indeed. As mentioned, this release is just over 80 minutes in length. As such, the material is presented across 2 CDs. A cynic might state that judicious editing would have excised just enough material to pack the 13 tracks on a single CD, but doing so would have been detrimental, I believe. Tracked and programmed the way it is, the end result feels more like 2 separate and distinct albums, and allows the listener to take the material in more measured doses. In many ways, The Witching Hour feels more like a traditional double album from the 1970’s than anything out on the market today, and the result is pleasing. Songs like “Spiral Dance” and “Passage Upstairs” feature a vibe that draws as much from Santana as they do Tull or other bluesy/folky prog bands. Latin inflected drum and bass grooves lay back as Craig Herlihy lets loose with some soulful sax soloing, the tracks bubbling and percolating along a mid-tempo groove. “Shiver” would not sound out of place, I feel, on a later-day Jethro Tull album, with plenty of solid flute playing and a dark, bluesy vibe that elicits comparison as much to Catfish Rising as Dot Com. I’m tempted to say that this piece is more interesting than almost anything on either of those two albums…and I think I might have just done so. “Triskelion,” at 7:50, is one of the longest tracks on this first CD, and features more solid playing, more layered vocals, and incredibly pleasing flute work, with crunchy rhythm guitar work adding just enough heaviness to give the composition edge. Without trying to exclude any other song from CD 1 in the review, I want to mention, as a particular highlight, the 2-minute “Widow’s Walk.” This composition is mood incarnate, with wave sounds, subdued synth and piano playing, and evocative soprano vocals working together to create a sorrowful, elegiac mood. I often mention that music takes on a visual, cinematic aspect for me, and this is one piece that fits that to a T for me. Despite its brevity, “Widow’s Walk” is a perfect example of Yoke Shire crafting a song to fit a need on the album rather than relying on something that just comes close. CD 2 opens with the “obligatory epic,” the 16-minute “Dream Tea.” Yoke Shire’s not-insignificant songwriting and playing are brought into stark focus here; considering their material and arrangements, a false step would not only weaken this particular disc, but the album as a whole. A few minutes in, however, and any and all fears should be erased. Every bit as dreamy as the title infers, the piece is a lengthy musical journey, offering the Herhily brothers an opportunity to really stretch out and show that they can craft an epic that compares favourably with anything “bigger” bands are releasing today. Two additional longer tracks (the 7-minute “Midnight Chimes” and the 8-plus minute “Again Midnight Chimes”) work to create an almost-epic, save for the fact that they don’t necessarily flow together, nor are they truly parts 1 and 2 of a song. The Witching Hour closes out with 2 additional compositions; “Damiana” is a quaint instrumental based around keyboards and bass, with touches of guitar pedal tones added here and there for mood, while “Bard of the North Winds” is a slow piece with vocalese over picked guitar and bass. The feel of these last two tracks is darker and moodier by far than anything previous on the album, and eases the listener out of the album in a somewhat unsettling and disquieting fashion. The pieces are excellent album closers, offering something slightly different, yet fully fitting into the album. It may sound like I am saying much the same thing over and over on each song, but the simple fact of the matter is that there’s very little I can complain about on this album. The songs are incredibly well written, and Craig and Brian are very solid musicians. I don’t know that I could honestly say that these songs are risky or boundary pushing, but at the same time, they offer a consistency and attention to the songwriter’s craft that I think a lot of bands could learn an important lesson from. With its focus on the song and maintaining vibe, The Witching Hour is as much a visual experience as it is an auditory one. I can easily see a group of musicians deep in the woods on a chilly Autumn night, a fire illuminating the red and gold and brown leaves, as they break out their instruments and play this material. Ignore the fact that The Witching Hour could have been a slightly shorter single disc. Instead, revel in the fact that Yoke Shire has created an album that connects to so many senses at the same time. Break out some mulled wine or chilled cider, curl up in front of a warm fire and play this album…you’ll be glad you did. Band members: Craig Herlihy: Lead and Backing Vocals, Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Bass, Harmonica, Flute, Dulcimer, Mandolin, Bass Pedals, Theremin, Marimba, Melodihorn, Drums, Percussion Brian Herlihy: Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Baritone guitar, Backing vocals, Percussion