IGNIS FATUUS

For my money this is the strongest of White Willow's albums, and is one of my very favorite folk prog albums. I think the unevenness in style, owing to the fact that the album was recorded in pieces over two years, actually works to the album's advantage, and explores a lot of interesting nooks and crannies that got smoothed out of later releases.

There's quite a bit of medieval influence on this album, from the two songs with lovely countertenor vocals, "Song" and "John Dee's Lament," to the literal quotation of the Scandinavian chant "Nobilis Humilis" that closes out the track "Lord of Night." There's also plenty of fantasy and folklore references to dig into all over the album--the lyrics are evocative and elegant, if a bit on the RenFaire side of things. These give this otherwise contemporary album a particularly antiquated and introspective character that I find compelling--Anúna fans ought to find plenty to like on this album, to cross-reference an entirely different genre of music. White Willow is no Gryphon, however: soft vocals, acoustic guitar, light rhythm section, organ, mellotron, butter-smooth synth leads that wind sinuously and effortlessly over the fresh and inventive accompaniment. And a variety of other acoustic and electric instruments for judicious seasoning. Well, OK, they also throw a krummhorn in at the end of "Song," if you're really jonesing for it.

Highlights for me are the opening track, "Snowfall," where a subtly tweaked synth patch perfectly echoes the sorrow of the poetic lyrics, "Lord of Night" for a lovely flute melody over some interesting Scandinavian harmonies, "Cryptonemesis" for a more straight-up and interesting goth instrumental, and "John Dee's Lament" for a great piano line that builds into a satisfying and mellotron-washed conclusion.

Overall, I'd say this is a much more introspective, varied, and fragile album than its successors. Ignis Fatuus is a rare gem.