Bandcamp Reviews: One Leg One Eye & Numün Reviewed
Every Friday, I plan to buy one or two "new to me" releases on Bandcamp. ”New to me” is something I just now discovered or finally bought. Whether it be from 1972 of 2025. I will then listen to these releases for a couple of days and then post my unfiltered thoughts. So, at the very least there should be a post a week (with some exceptions of course).
.... And Take The Black Worm With Me by One Leg One Eye
I discovered this album (and the genre of Experimental Irish Music) when I was researching drones and their more spiritual qualities (how pretentious is that?). Anyhow, I stumbled across this great newsletter about underground Irish music and this post in particular. And from there I went down a rabbit hole.
First exploring the band Moundabout (who I will have to write about at some point) and just recently purchasing the latest by One Leg One Eye.
The best way to describe this album is that it is captivating. It just pulls you in and bewilders you (in the best way) in its sounds and approach. It starts with what I can best describe is Black Metal fused with Trad Music (not that I am an expert on it). And I don't mean in a mash up kind of way – in a way that makes it seem that black metal has always been a part of the lament. From there, the rest of the music moves on to trad singing, drones, unknown sounds and darkness infused melodies.
This music is organic and smells of decay. It is a once proud coastal town that has lived long past its glory. But there is beauty and escape there. This music is primordial and connects us back to gods older than the universe.
Essential.
Opening by Numün
I recently decided to subscribe to Aquarium Drunkard because of a like mindedness pursuit of sound. Additionally, I was trying to broaden how I consume — as the algorithm is no longer welcome (more on that in another post) and so I decided I had to walk the walk. IE support the things I love and I love being able to find new music.
One of the first things I came across was the seemingly oxymoronic genre, Ambient Country via a review of the band, Suss. Now, this was a very curious thing and wasn't completely without precedent. I am thinking Slim Westerns or Dust to Dust. But I would not call this a genre and with this in mind, I bought a Suss album (will need to revisit this too at some point) and immediately needed more. So I did some reading and found out that a Suss member, Bob Holmes, has an excellent podcast called Ambient Country. Started listening to that and learned that Bob Holmes is also in Numün. Which was described as less ambient country and more experimental, hypnotic, emotional and psychedelic while meshing a host of styles. And I was sold.
Now, this music is all that and more but I am plagued by an idea. That idea is that in my youth I would have probably not given this music a chance. Too slow, too pastoral, too new age, too pretty etc. And those ideas would have kept me from giving this music its due. So as I settled into this release, I am reminded of that thought process and how damaging it is. One is letting their preconceived notions get in the way of pleasure, learning and expansion. As an individual and as a society we must get away from this mindset. Whether it is music, established institutions or connecting to another.
Truth be told, this music is not new age or pastoral or whatever. It is just music and whether it works for you or not is a personal matter. It is OK not to like something but that should not be because of preconceived notions. Regardless, the sounds on here are top caliber. As an album, it suspends time and drives the anxieties and the world away. It is just you and the sound — lost in a temporal storm of ambience, drone, western motifs, psychedelia, kosmische and folk.
Essential.
Photo by Luca Nicoletti on Unsplash