| “The voices, both male and female, bleed a poisoned irony that can only come from extreme self-consciousness, and thus drink deep of the mortal pain that gives music soul. This is no hippie freakout. This is a deep, resonant conflict. It’s art defined by elements in its creators that they could not release through any other avenue.” - Dusted
"The Voyage of Icarus does a splendid job exhuming this intriguing chapter of the recent past, and restoring a glimmer to Peregrine and Silmaril's modest legacy." - Pitchfork
“One of the most haunting and beautiful albums I have ever heard.” David Tibet, Current 93 / Nurse With Wound
“A gorgeous reissue of early-’70s mystical psychedelic folk from the Tolkein-inspired group Silmaril. Earnest and serene vibes and haunted instrumentation make this an instant winner in my group, as this Milwaukee-based group effortlessly define the recently unearthed genre of acid folk. I am reminded of darker moments of the Incredible String Band and Comus, as well as the sadness visited by Nick Drake, Tim Buckley, and Gary Higgins.” - Sound Fix
“A fantastic compilation of songs, and a MUST for each acid/psych folk collector.” - Psychedelicfolk
"With the current climate of New Weird America who share similarly mix thematic influences like Christianity, the Renaissance and fantasy worlds of all kinds, I can easily see the warrant in a re-release like this. Silmaril also share musical elements with this recent movement: psychedelic folk, hymnal emotion, and exotic ventures into European and Indian styles. If you are a fan of acts like Joanna Newsom, Fursaxa, Devendra Banhart and the long list of other freak folkers who I am not familiar with, this is definitely worth your time as a starting point for the genre they’ve since swirled into something truly epic." -
Audiversity
Awash in fuzz boxes and acid trips, the dozens of other overlooked groups from the psychedelic era bear little resemblance to Silmaril. While others buzzed within the hippie epicenters of Haight Street and the Lower East Side, Silmaril formed in haunted, industrial Milwaukee. Other bands might have met at a love-in; Silmaril were friends from a Catholic youth retreat bound together by a doomed figure in the eccentric madman tradition of Syd Barrett, Roy Harper and Mel Lyman by the name of Matthew Peregrine.
The Voyage of Icarus captures the dark, mysterious, and achingly beautiful acid folk & Christian themed psychedelic sounds that emanated from 1973’s highly collectable privately pressed album, Given Time... Or the Several Roads, and their dormant, unreleased follow up No Mirrored Temple. |
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