United Bible Studies
Divining Movements
For this album, United Bible Studies was the quartet of David Colohan, Alison O'Donnell (The Owl Service), Dominic Cooper (The Owl Service, The Straw Bear Band), and Matt Leivers. "Divining Movements" is part of a trilogy which started with the "Cave Hill Ascension" LP. "Divining Movements" is firmly within the more meditative vein of the longer "Cave Hill Ascension" pieces. Divining movements are a way of accessing the numinous. The album is a literal movement through and a meditation on landsc…
Cave Hill Ascension
** 2021 Stock ** Four tracks, including two of epic length, on heavyweight red vinyl, on which United Bible Studies founder David Colohan is joined by Alison O'Donnell (Mellow Candle, Flibbertigibbet, The Owl Service) and Dom Cooper (The Straw Bear Band, The Owl Service). Bless Us & Break Us with Mystery Upon Mystery is meditative and spiritual yet with a dark undercurrent, pairing soaring wordless choral vocals with brooding synth drones. Ritualistic percussion signals a change in direction, wi…
Porti Sepolti
Irish/English/Scottish/Italian prog collaboration of United Bible Studies which includes Aldo Becca, Gayle Brogan, David Colohan, Sophie Cooper, Christian Culak, Alan Davidson, Matt Leivers and Alison O'Donnell. Reminds me of the spaciest bits of Franco Leprino with the psych folk elements of Claudio Rocchi thrown in. Heady stuff. 70 copies.
Rosary Bleeds
Rosary Bleeds takes the road hinted at with those 90s synth chords and follows it all the way down. While the other two releases feel like very communal creations with no single voice dominating, Rosary Bleeds is centred on Alison O'Donnell's dramatic vocals. The backdrop is almost entirely synthetic; clicking drum machines, burbling, proto-melodic leads, deep bass. Clean electric guitar sometimes adds to the texture with simple, single strums. There is almost nothing to suggest that the…
Spoiche
United Bible Studies is an experimental and improvisational folk band from Ireland, with members in the UK. There are a few core members such as David Colohan as well as a host of incidental contributors on both the live performances and studio albums. Pastoral psychedelia and traditional song have remained the cornerstones of the band's style, alongside collective improvisation that can take the form of extended drone-works or explosive outbursts of ecstatic noise. The lineup currently in…
The Jonah
A cornucopia of sonic delights, traversing the spectrum from delicate folk to sprawling progressive rock. Richard Youngs' progressive rock project Ilk provided the impetus for the band to make a "Prog Album" so they started with the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink opus "The Jonah". Running the gamut from delicate acoustic guitar to Sunn 0))) style doom metal & back again, it's an extraordinary feat of the imagination. Around this central track, a range of shorter tracks orbit, typically acoustic…