The Dissolution Orphans was released on March 21, 2014. The "album" consists of demos and unreleased songs and have been recorded under a period of 10 years. At Sons of Perditions website you can read more about the background of each song. Zebulon Whatley has been very clear that this isn't an album in its own right and that the quality of the recordings varies greatly since they were never intended to be released. Maybe, it's not appropriate to review under these circumstances. Anyway, here is my assessment.

The album gives you an interesting insight in the works of Sons Of Perdition. The demos are often rough and when you compare with album versions you realize how much work has been put in to refining the songs. The best example is ”This Land is Cursed” (and it doesn’t depend on the particular poor sound quality on this track). Even in the more developed versions like “Psalms of Withering” and “Lenders in the Temple” this is obvious. Two demo versions of later album versions particularly stand out. “Psalm of Woe” goes very slowly, in an almost liturgical way with chanting and unsettling noises  in the background (deliberately put there). “Paying My Debts” goes somewhat slower than the album version. It’s also more dark and brutal than the album version (yes, it’s possible). They are both very suggestive and clearly among the best tracks on the album. There are also some great tracks on the "album" that for some reason never fit in on the Dissolution trilogy (the three official albums). Some examples: the instrumental “Desert Trek” with just barely noticeable choir, lingering guitar and definite bass lines. Probably the best song on the album is “Nowhere”. The song was recorded without a clear aim or purpose. But it would clearly have met the quality criteria for any of Sons of Perditions albums, and  probably would have fitted best on the first or the third album. The same goes for “Desert Wind” with choirs, guitar and banjo. Other great songs are “The Trophy Wife”, “Night Passage” and "The Shadow of the Undertaker" which starts off rather joyous (with Sons of Perdition standards). The lyrics, however, quickly set the mood right. There aren’t really any real lows or bad songs on the “album”, but some of them clearly don’t have the same luminosity as the songs on the albums in the Dissolution Trilogy. I'm thinking primarily of the songs “Escape”, “Train Song” and “Flambe”. However, this is a marginal remark. With that being said, “The Dissolution Orphans” is a must-have "album" for everyone interested in the music of Sons of Perdition.

As stated in my blog entry on March 2, 2014 "Uncle Sinner to release a new album" a collection from Uncle Sinner with outtakes and rarities, "A Pocketful of Glass Eyes" was to be released as a fundraiser for modest recording gear. Well, now it's here. You could buy the album digitally in the format of your choice at Bandcamp (now taken out of circulation) The price is set according to the "name your price"-principle.

In an email Uncle Sinner explains that the outtakes are of varying quality and don't form a proper album. Yes, "A Pocketful of Glass Eyes" is rough and stripped down to the bone. But, on the other hand, you don't want an (over)produced from Uncle Sinner. Uncle Sinner is according to his Bandcamp-page: "...a figment of his own imagination. He holds several degrees in psychological vandalism and enjoys hollering, guitars, banjos, mandolins and rage." I think, however, he's too modest regarding the view that it doesn't form an album. It outshines most releases that are made these days in my opinion. The album is a bit more bluesy (but not too much blues) compared to "Ballads and Mental Breakdowns". Best songs are Little Margaret, Want to Go to Cuba, Can't Go Now, Illinois Blues, Kerosene, The Cuckoo (demo) and Glory in the Meeting House. In the email Uncle Sinner writes that the next album [Let the Devil In] will sound much better than the tracks on "A Pocketful of Glass Eyes" and the for the most part the tracks will be a bit more complex (but not too complex). That sounds very reassuring, I think.

However, I'm already looking forward to the next album "Let The Devil In". The painting is made by Gal Arad Kabiri to be used on the next album. If the album sounds like the album cover then I’m reassured. The date for the release was earlier set to December 2011 as a "firmly arbitrary deadline". Uncle Sinner writes in his email that he dislikes deadlines and the feeling that he owe people something. I really hope that Uncle Sinner fundraising will succeed and he will be able to release this album. In due time, of course. I have waited. I can wait a little longer. When it comes to CDs, I have been equipped with the patience that withstands a comparison with Job.

The other day I got a postcard from Radio Sweden, P4 (see picture left). I had apparently been “randomly” selected to participate in the jury of “Svensktoppen”. (For non-swedish readers: Radio Sweden is a Public service company. Svensktoppen is a programme that has been aired since 1962. Before 2003 the programme was strongly dominated by tacky dansband). However, "Svensktoppen" is the worst kind of commercial trorolo-mainstream-pop-r&b-wailing-autotune music programme you can possible imagine. And "randomly" selected yours truly, The Ambassador, for the jury? Yeah, right. It's an outrageous provocation against the Embassy and its staff. The Swedish Embassy of Gothic Country is - as you know - deeply involved in the cultural act of exploring and promoting real music made by real people. I will naturally decline due to health reasons. Mental health reasons, that is.

The cds "Texas Whore Pleaser" and "El Santo Grial: La Pistola Piadosa" by death country artist Slackeye Slim arrived today. The latter is a concept album including religion, murder, justice and existence. El Santo Grial: La Pistola Piadosa was appointed 2011 Album Of The Year by the reputable site Saving Country Music, see link. 

I bought the cds February 7th, 2014. The shipping took considerable time. But, all is well that ends well. When you buy a physical cd from Bandcamp you get an immediate download of the entire album in the format of your choice (for example FLAC, Free Lossless Audio Codec). A nice concept and fully in line with Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Death Country should namely be regarded as a basic need. I could use the waiting time for the cds to arive to listening to Evil Eye, I Wanna Be Yer Zombie, As Soon As I Wound This Man, Vengeance Gonna Be My Name, Judgment Day among others. The cds arrived from Mesa, Colorado where Slackeye Slim seems to been laying low on a ranch. He is also working on a new album hopefully to be realeased in spring 2014. I'm looking forward to it. Slackeye Slim is a very interesting artist and he will almost certain be honored with an article on this website.

In the process of triangulation the genre I came across "The Interpestuals" from Calgary, Alberta in Canada. In a discussion thread on a music forum a member submitted extremely initiated suggestions. The thing that drew my attention to The Interpestuals was that the band was mentioned in a very interesting context. I started hard-googling, but the only information that came up was the geographical origin of the band, that they played, disbanded and faded away. No members, no contact info, no social media, no nothing. It's not even clear that they have released an album. It could very well be someone outside the band who performed a cultural act and put it out on the Internet. The "album" called "ReviveR" was "released" in 2000. It's also highly questionable if the album cover (to the right) really is the original album cover, or if someone just felt like the picture suited the music. All these questions and no answers. Very frustrating. I therefore emailed the initiated forum-member and asked if he had any more information. He answered instantly that everything he had found on the Internet was a copy and pasting of something a friend of him had wrote for their last.fm profile. As far as he knew they only made one recording and it was not available through usual channels. He kindly gave me a link to the "album". CD is my preferred format, but sometimes you have to make an exception. Otherwise, I couldn't get it. It's well justified in this case. The "album" is namely in my opinion "dark americana" (or more correctly "canadiana") of the finest brand. Best songs: Regrettin Time, Stow Away, Desolate Bones, Valley Of Shadows, Boots & Skulls