Midsummers by The Rowan Amber Mill

Released: 24th June 2009.

Formats: Limited Numbered Handcrafted Edition. Standard Jewel Case CD. Download.

Songs: 1. Sumer Is A Cumen In (Olde and Moderne) 2. Sumer Is A Cumen In (Medieval Carnivale) 3. Greenwood 4. Blood and Bones (2009) 5. Corndolly 6. The Paper Owl and Golden Hare 7. Spinning and Singing 8. Sumer Is A Cumen In (Darke Instrumentale) 9. Midsummers 10. Blood And Bones (2008) - Bonus Track on CD.

A unique and exquisite take on pastoral psychedelic-folk, with echoes of The Wicker Man and nature's elements. A 35 minute mini-album themed around and elements and feelings emanating from Summer. Midsummers includes seven completely new songs, a new and radically different version of Blood and Bones (plus the original version only previously available from us on our download ep Folk Devils and Moral Panics). Plus a new updated and remastered version of Spinning and Singing.

Released in both a limited edition handcrafted CD case (made from eco-friendly 100% recycled chipboard) and a standard jewel case edition. Both come with a with a four page full colour booklet containing exclusive artwork and liner notes.

Reviews

"Some songs become so associated with an event that people forget to perform it, "Sumer Is A Cumen" is such a song, forever linked to "The Wicker man" so power to The Rowan Amber Mill for reclaiming it on the mystical and majestic "Midsummers" album, an album of English folklore and themes. You can almost smell the cut grass in the hay meadow, watching the windmill turn in the breeze whilst enjoying a countryside picnic and yet at the same time be reminded that nature can be dark and beautiful as well as pretty and fey This album catches both aspects." FATEA Magazine.

""Regular readers will remember us applauding the ‘Beyond the pale’ psych-folk compilation earlier this year, and in particular a contribution by The Rowan Amber Mill, which we described as “intense and magnificent, a hypnotic banjo adding menace while an incessant drone nags away at the back of your mind”. The song was ‘Blood and Bones’, and appears again in a considerably reworked form on the band’s CD-EP ‘Midsummers’ on which the trio of Stephen Stannard, Kim Guy and Terry Stacey gambol through a collection of English folk song, from the traditional (the 14th century ‘Sumer is a Cumen In’, a version of which appeared as the climax to the movie ‘Wicker Man’), to the contemporary (the superb ‘Spinning and Singing’, featuring gorgeous harmonies and pastoral slide guitar) via ‘The Paper Owl and Golden Hare’, a jaunty flute-driven folk song inspired partly by the novel The Owl Service and the 1970s TV adaptation. Although unrelated, if you are already a fan of folk-psych outfit The Owl Service you’ll love these guys too. Top marks for packaging as well – my copy came in a hand-crafted card cover (makes note to self: write and ask them where they found the parts to craft this, as it’s truly exquisite)". - Terrascope Online.