Kathleen Yearwood
Country of origin:
Canada
Type of music generally:
Beautiful, fierce experimental contemporary folk with a Celtic flavour and occasional traditional songs.
Status:
Most recent release, Great Songs To Empty Rooms (2006)
See also:
Kathleen Yearwood's site
Comparisons:
Hard to say who she's like because she's so very like herself. Imagine if Diamanda Galas mixed traditional and contemporary folk and experimental music and had a slightly more conventional soprano but still used it the same way. (Neile)
Covers/own material:
Mostly own—occasional versions of traditional songs and Dog Logic is mostly covers
General comments:
Kathleen Yearwood has a powerful voice and writes songs that equal that power. Always forthright, occasionally didactic, in her later lyrics she is one of the best lyricists I've ever run across—poetic and pointed, impressionist and concrete, both. She mixes industrial noise with traditional songs, sound clips of cows and breaking glass with her stunningly beautiful songs. Not for the faint of heart. (Neile)She gets big points for originality and complexity—but loses some for sound quality and vocal talents for her first cd release, Book of Hate. Isn't Kathleen Yearwood great? To me, she is the epitome of "alternative folk". She makes people like Ani Difranco seem so mainstream. (jjhanson@att.net)
It's avant-garde folk, really...she's extremely avant and experimental, and I'm SO down with that. And noisy and brilliant...oh Lordy...pissed-off brilliant Canadian girls rule. (John.Drummond)
Comments about live performance:
Kathleen Yearwood is just as much of a powerhouse live as she is on disc, and that's saying a lot. Her vocals are amazing. Don't miss her if she plays anywhere near you. (Neile)
Recommended first album:
Book of Hate
Recordings:
- Panik And Death (cassette 1988)
- Housework (cassette 1989)
- dead branches make a noise (cassette 1990)
- "Universal Incest" b/w "Fille D'un Laboureaux" (7" vinyl single 1991)
- Book of Hate (1994)
- Little Misery Birds (cassette 1997; cd 1998)
- Dog Logic (2000)
- Ordeal (2003)
- Great Songs To Empty Rooms (2005)
dead branches make a noise
Release info:
1990—Voice of the Turtle—003; Subterranean (cassette only)
Availability:
By mail order from Subterranean Records, P.O. Box 2530, Berkeley CA 94702, U.S.A.
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended for those looking for something strong and demanding
Group members:
Kathleen Yearwood—guitars, chanter, voices
Guest artists:
Ken Hare—percussion
Ross Campbell—sax and violin
Produced by:
Bryan Becker, Cameron Noyes and K Yearwood
Comments:
What an amazing collection of songs, both musically and in the power of their delivery and message. Yes, the political songs are didactic, and if I read the lyrics alone I would be annoyed by their hectoring tone—but the delivery is so stunning when I listen I'm not annoyed but fascinated. The music makes them transcendent. Wow. These are some of the most haunting, compelling tunes I have ever heard.
It's not easy listening—much of it is harsh, but still beautiful. Listening to it is an experience. You might hate it, you might love it, but it's unlikely to leave you cold.
For anyone who has found Kathleen Yearwood's work interesting previously—this is a must have. Anyone who is interested in a what it might be like if Diamanda Galas sang traditional folk and political folk songs with higher, operatic-almost vocals with dynamic guitar work and strange background accompaniment, well, you have GOT to hear this. It's harrowing listening hour. Gut wrenching, like all of Kathleen Yearwood's work. (Neile)
Book of Hate
Release info:
1994—Voice of the Turtle, Box 325 Vilna, Alberta, T0A 3L0, CANADA—VOTT CD001; Subterranean—P.O. Box 2530, Berkeley CA 94702, U.S.A. (U.S. distributor)—SUB 73-2
Availability:
Hard to find—best bet would be by mail from Voice of the Turtle
Ecto priority:
Very high for those looking for something strong and demanding
Group members:
Kathleen Yearwood—vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, hard, crucified guitar, typewriter, garbage, panes of glass, clapping, field recordings
Guest artists:
Reg Elder—bass, bowed bass, vocals, electric guitar
Daren Rufiange—drums and percussion
Tim Ashworth—violoncello
Jeff Burke—bassoon and pennywhistle
Ross Campbell—violins
Dawn Hage—trumpet
Kay McCalister—French horn
Ken Read—trombone
Bedlam Gospel Tabernacle Choir w/ Rev. Hyacinth Hemlock—vocals, clapping, meditations on the book of Job
Produced by:
Dave Mockford and Kathleen Yearwood
Comments:
She's angry, but her songs still have beauty. There's hate on this disc, and yet there's a sense of redemption, too, and she's angry at the right things. Also an unusual sense of maturity. One of those discs that messes with my emotions every time I hear it.
This is what happened when I first listened to it—this was the first of her music I'd run across. First song: Hmm. Slightly operatic but tough voice singing a traditional folk song. Ok. I think I like it. Second song: Hmm. Another trad. folk song, fairly quiet. No, wait a minute then there's an operatic line and then crunchy, crunchy guitar at the very end. Third song: WHAT IS SHE DOING? She's trilling and the only accompaniment is clapping on a haunting, insistent song about a Native friend in trouble with the law who dies. Then I was lost in it.
The disc varies between things that sound like traditional folk, things that sound like contemporary folk, and things that sound like the more experimental noisy stuff out there, frequently mixed in one song. Parts sound like Diamanda Galas. The accompaniment is always interesting and varied (breaking windows? cows? barking dogs? birds?). Impressive and powerful and insistent and definitely haunting. "Lost My Way" is a song that has obsessed me since I first heard it. Definitely for those who love the harsher, more experimental side of things. Highly, highly recommended. (Neile)my reaction essentially mirrored neile's: first, "hmmm, this is nice." second, "wow, that was neat." third, "yikes, what is she *doing*?!?" This is a nifty one, folks. look for it. (woj@smoe.org)
This album should be the definition for "alternative folk". Makes Ani DiFranco sound like Top 40 bubble-gum pop). (jjhanson@att.net)
JESUS CHRIST it's amazing. Loreena McKennitt's neurosis-ridden guitar shrill twin... I just got done with the third track and um it's amazing. I'm BLOWN AWAY. somethin' tells me Kathleen's on her way into my pantheon. JESUS CHRIST YES... Book of Hate is the most arresting first-listen of any album I can think of in the past year, probably... the only thing that comes close as far as the initial impact of viscera is Veda Hille's You do not live in this world alone, which just ripped me to pieces the first time I listened to it. (John.Drummond)
Little Misery Birds
Release info:
1997—Voice of the Turtle, Box 325 Vilna, Alberta, T0A 3L0, CANADA or Subterranean Records, PO Box 2530 Berkeley, CA 94702, USA, tel: 415-821-5880, Fax: 415-647-0678
Availability:
By mail order from either address
Ecto priority:
Very high for those looking for something strong and demanding
Comments:
Following where Book of Hate left off, this collection demands attention from the listener as it takes her from haunting melodies to more experimental soundscapes. It is her most experimental and least melodic thus far—farther out and farther from folk than most of her music—but it still draws me in. It's powerful and beautiful and desperate and engaging at the same time. It's a must for anyone who likes music from the edge of experience. Note that the cd version is shorter than the tape by two songs. (Neile)
Dog Logic
Release info:
2000—Voice of the Turtle, Box 325 Vilna, Alberta, T0A 3L0, CANADA
Availability:
By mail order from above
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Kathleen Yearwood—vocals, guitars, violins, bass, noises, bird recordings, frog recordings, dog recordings, celeste, harpsichord, pip organs
Guest artists:
Kyp Harness—vocals
Bob Tildesley—trumpet
Craig Brenan—trombone
Rachel Melas—ambience, bass, baritone guitar
Alberta College Scola Cantorum Girls' Choir—vocals
The Anhedonia Singers—vocals
Overflowing Lava Dog
Sickasadog singers
Andrew Robins—field recordings
Comments:
Some personal observations about the album: The work is a mixture of poems written by Steven Ruhl, Kyp Harness, Steven J. Bernstein, Kathleen Yearwood and others. Kathleen uses a wide range of vocal techniques to say the least. Several cuts, such as "Wake Me Up (When We Get There)" and "Somebodies Looking For Their Voice" reminded me of how beautiful Kathleen's voice can be. It's surprisingly pop sounding. If she keeps that up, you may see her on MTV someday...just kidding, she has too much integrity to for that. She does some spoken word pieces accompanied by a variety of sounds, noises and dogs sometimes. Other songs are operatic sounding and may require a trip to the liner notes to decipher...I'm not there yet. If you're familiar with Kathleen's work, you'll understand this is not easy listening music, it takes listener participation and a little effort. I like it a lot and feel it's her best work to date. (jsutton@rahul.net)Kathleen Yearwood has this amazing talent for mixing the dissonant with the beautifully harmonic and this album does just that again. It's another step down her scary and beautiful road. She's always pushing the limits, both musically and lyrically. It's full of despair and hope, ugliness and beauty. Full of contradictions that together form something magnificent. Her music is unique and harsh and telling and beautiful. And an unforgettable experience. (Neile)
Further info:
Email voxtortue @ resist . ca; write Voice of the Turtle, Box 325 Vilna, Alberta, T0A 3L0, CANADA.
