Bastard Mountain - "Old Habits". Jill O'Sullivan is complaining about old habits, here - hers and yours. But the complaint is as much an inquiry as it is a complaint: a singer prying open something she doesn't understand, insolently asking. She reminds me of Scout Niblett on Magnolia Electric Company's "Peoria Lunch Box Blues": someone too brave to be timid, even when there are monsters about. And while Bastard Mountain are more fog-soaked than Jason Molina's latter-day crew ever were, they show the same patience, the same sensitivity of space and harmony. This is an acoustic folk song with many moving parts - voice, drone, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, violin, bass. They never crowd each other. They never jostle. They are able to say their piece, every bit of it, every hardship and solace.

[Bastard Mountain are Jill O'Sullivan (Sparrow & the Workshop), Rob St John (Eagleowl and Meursault), Peter Harvey (Meursault), Neil Pennycook (Meursault), Rory Sutherland (Broken Records) and Reuben Taylor. / They live in Scotland. / buy