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Smoke Fairies - Darkness Brings the Wonders Home
by Kevin Wierzbicki
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Jessica Davies and Katherine Blamire are Smoke Fairies, and this release, the duo's sixth overall, is their first in four years. And it totally sounds like they've spent that time hanging out in some mystical nether land, seeking inspiration from a strange milieu and perhaps indulging in local potions of unknown ingredient. In other words, doing what smoke fairies are wont to do. And you will thank them for it as Darkness Brings the Wonders Home is a charming listen filled with ethereal melodies, heavenly harmonies and slide guitar riffs that on songs like "On the Wing" reflect a fondness for the ominous side of the blues. Kind of like Fairport Convention, Kate Bush and Larkin Poe all rolled into one. A folksy sort of psychedelia tinges lots of songs here, notably "Chocolate Rabbit," which offers a great putdown that will undoubtedly be oft repeated by listeners, "You're like a chocolate rabbit/You're hollow inside..." There's a quality about this music that makes it seem like Smoke Fairies are trying to reveal a secret here and it sure is fun trying to figure out what it is. The ladies left their native UK and came to Seattle to record this mysterious masterpiece; hopefully they'll bring the magic back for a US tour later this year.
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