Everdene Holler
‘Everdene
Holler’
Self-released
Rochester duo
Everdene Holler’s debut album is a curious collection of sounds. Is it drone
music? Is it roots music? Delightfully, the answers are unclear, as banjo
player Zora Gussow and fiddler Clara Riedlinger — who share vocal duties — defy
expectations with six unsettling but satisfying takes on traditional folk
ballads. “Undone in Sorrow” is a rustic combination of ambient nature sounds, a
warm, major-chord drone, and insistent banjo playing. During the murder ballad
“Matty Groves,” a haunting organ drone becomes virtually atonal against the
vocal harmonies. The album closes with a swirling, nearly psychedelic version
of the Sacred Harp standard “Idumea,” called “And Am I Born to Die” here. “Everdene
Holler” is compelling outsider folk with mystical, avant-garde vibes — the kind
of music Rochester hasn’t come close to hearing since Hieronymus Bogs moved to
the Southwest.
Everdene Holler will
play at its album release party, along with Autoharpy, on Sunday, March 31, 7
p.m. at The Spirit Room, 139 State Street. $5 suggested donation. 397-7595. facebook.com/TheSpiritRoomRochester.
This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 2, 2019.
