You Have Already Gone to the Other World

2013 release from the Alt-Folk duo consisting of Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost. The 16 tracks feature seven originals along with nine Ukrainian, Hungarian and Romanian traditional songs re-imagined and arranged with inspiration taken from the legendary 1964 film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Russian filmmaker Sergey Paradjanov. Produced by John Dieterich of Deerhoof, this is the first A Hawk and a Hacksaw album for some time to feature only it's two primary members (with the exception of two tracks where Dietrich lends guitar) but the instrumentation is not minimal. Dieterich's sense of musical experimentation has driven the group into new territories of folk Psychedelia that explodes with rich ornamentation. It's also the band's most dynamic album since they began their Eastern European adventure, with the thundering percussion and dramatic arcs of violin on the title track counterpointed by majestic solo pieces for Persian Santur, and piano, stately organ-led processionals and original sound and melodies from the film woven throughout.