Arbitrary Signs at Othermusic.com !

Arbitrary Signs releases will now be available for download at Othermusic.com .. So far we've got the new Spectre Folk "Compass" lp up there. Stayed tuned for releases from Magik Markers and other gems from the extensive back catalog!

Spectre Folk Compass TMT review

Cool new review from Tiny Mix Tapes website:

Spectre Folk

Compass, blanket, lantern, mojo

[Arbitrary Signs; 2009]

by Jeff Roesgen

Rating:

Despite its namesake, Spectre Folk is not flavor-of-the-month, indie-psychedelic campfire music played through an acid-coated filter, but rather the haunting and ruminative compositions of the dark forests and moonlit lakes beyond. Written and conceived by Magik Marker Pete Nolan, with help from brood members Julie Tomlinson-Nolan and Violet Nolan, Compass, blanket, lantern, mojo, his second full-length release under the Spectre Folk banner, is dissonant and organic: humming guitars mingled with tape echoes, vibes, and found sounds. Although it lurks in the same sonic vicinity as Vanishing Voice and Wooden Wand, Compass, with its plodding sense of experimentation, carves out a niche significant enough to sound fresh. The album is too fully realized to allow Spectre Folk to be considered a “side project,” as it exudes mood and atmosphere that falls well outside the no-wave noise-mongering of the Magik Markers.

With a patient interplay between traditional instrumentation and atmospheric space, this vinyl-only release is a mature record budding with mystique and unexpected turns. Rhythm is embedded into the mix in favor of ambient melody. Instrumental tracks like “Dusty’s Rag,” “8 Foot Wings” and “Toot! Toot!” provide the record’s sonic theme, as they churn under vibes and long-form electric guitar drones. “Groovy Garbage Man” builds on this with its feedback-laden narrative. And “Ages Have Passed” merges these with Krautrock tendencies. Only with “Burning Bridge,” the album’s focal point and only track to possess more traditional structure, is Compass’ overall sense of spontaneity temporarily abandoned for a beautifully unhinged blues song. It breezily creeps forth under acoustic guitar chords that swell toward and ultimately recede from pop dynamics, all while building feedback blares into the mix, lifting the song to a dramatic climax.

Most compelling, however, is Compass' density. A requisite for full appreciation of this record, headphones reveal profound depth beyond its guitars and wayward vocal effects. There amid the humming field recordings, desolate electronics, and cooing children (Violet Nolan) are tracks whose creation required not only imagination, but also love. For Spectre Folk, this notion leaves wide and intriguing territory upon which to make future records. And for the adventurous musical wanderings of Pete Nolan, Compass, blanket, lantern, mojo signals yet another dimension to be explored.

New Spectre Folk lp "Compass, blanket, lantern, mojo" OUT NOW on ARBITRARY SIGNS!

One Sheet
Spectre Folk
Compass, blanket, lantern, mojo
Arbitrary Signs LP - 003
listen: www.myspace.com/spectreflux

As anxiety encroaches with the cold air of winter thank the stars for the whiskey/weed warmth of Compass, blanket, lantern, mojo --- it flows through you like a liquid howl of light.

Th u r st on Mo or e


For an out-of-it fogie like myself, it’s tough to keep up with the many musical hats our boy Peter Nolan sports. There’s of course The Magik Markers and then there’s Lil Dusty, Spectre Flux, Spectre Folk, Folk Spectre, Cops, etc. I gotta admit I sorta lost the thread on Petes’ musical output for awhile there due to the simple fact I couldn’t keep up with it all. My chrome dome would literally throb with all the names and phony catalogue numbers that must accompany all these sound whims that must fly off his ginger head like bats from a belfry.

Luckily, I put down the Brupenex long enough to catch up with “Compass, Blanket, Lantern, Mojo’, Nolans’ latest expulsion under his Spectre Folk moniker. As expected, the album reeks of the musty homespun psychedelic scent that would make both Al Simones and Uncle Neil Young red as a beet. The tunes are hazy with hope and bobbing audio to spare. Seagulls or rusty bedsprings sound off in the crackly distance on one track and I get a salty taste in my mouth like I licked the third pier boardwalk in Wildwood circa ’79. And check out the track ‘Burning Bridge’ where Petes’ voice soars and wavers like a wounded dove flying to the safety of a clean cage and the awaiting name of ’Walter’. The whole thing is a gorgeous, fully conscious stumble into a self made sunset and it just reminds me of something someone never said to me ‘It’s not over until you declare everyone a loser and paint yourself in a corner’.

Tony Rettman
Guidoville, New York
November 2009




I dig the home-made sounds of Spectre Folk's new 'Compass, Blanket, Lantern, Mojo' long-player. Burning Bridge, for one, is sure to be the new late night/early morning/coming down/post-trip/mellow'd out/sitting around a campfire or by a lake or in a Williamsburg bedsit song. Pure and darkling anthems for the onset of those long winter nights a-comin'...

Lee Ranaldo
NYC Oct 09



Recorded Summer 2009 by Spectre Folk at the Homemade Casino in Greenpoint.

All tunes by Pete Nolan

Pete sings and plays Art and Lutherie acoustic, 2008 American Les Paul, drums, Juno 12, tapes etc.

Violet shakes and Julie Tomlinson Nolan sings backup on Burning Bridge. Violet howls at the end of Ages.

Violet Ray Nolan was there lending howls and vibes at every step.

Track titles:

1. Falling off the map
2. Toot toot!
3. Sat around for peace (this time)
4. Ages have passed
5. Dusty's rag
6. 8 foot wings
7. Burning Bridge
8. Groovy garbage, man

watch a video for Sat Around here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbknttBdnjA

Read an article and listen to a tune here:
http://rcrdlbl.com/2009/10/14/exclusive_new
_download_spectre_folk_falling_off_the_map

buy it for $12: petenolan@hotmail.com

New Spectre Folk lp on the way

Yo ho ho... here's and early warning advisory. Arbitrary Signs has a new Spectre Folk lp on the way to follow up on last years stone jammer "the Blackest Medicine" from the Woodsist label. The working title for this one is.. "compass, mojo, blanket, sword" or how bout..
Sat Around for a Piece (of plastic).. not sure yet, but the night creepers are making it happen while you snooze. Keep your ears to the ground.

2 new Releases, Spectre Folk with Major Stars Saturday

Hey Folks,

How's it going? So this if the first post for the Arbitrary Signs label.. home to Magik Markers, Spectre Folk, Lil Dusty, etc.

Hey guess what? There are 2 new releases for the label this month:

Spectre Folk feat. lil diamond Dusty and Chill Will.. Smokin with the Alien.

In this extended 3 song jammer, Folk Spectre's arabesque acoustic and electric guitar are joined by Diamond Dusty's zoned synth moves and the pulse beat shuffles of Chill Will. Guitars wander over all different landscapes from early morning dawn .. mean grinding streets and even desert ozones. The liquid swords have a sharp edge here.

Magik Markers... Baltimore Trust

Super quality recording of a great I trust my guitar era Magik Markers show in Baltimore back in 2003. The early band were in full effect here, creating tight organic instant no wave compositions each night out of naive guitar, rocking/shambling beats, screams and whatever happened to be going through Elisa Ambrogio's mind each night. This is a really cohesive show and it kind of sets the record straight about what the early Markers actually sounded like. The banter's on point too. Cool document


These fine items can be found at fusetronsound.com , Tomentosa.com , Volcanictongue.com , and Eclipse-records.com

In other news... Spectre Folk will be playing this Saturday at the Cake Shop on Ludlow with psych rock super duper heavy weights.. Major Stars, in celebration of the birthday one of our favorite submarine operators, Senator Michael "J" Wolf. JT Soda's is on semi-permanent vacation from her job controlling the synth for the S>F>(she's got a pod person living inside her, and she's about ready to pop)> so hard rocking meat man Brian Sullivan of the Brooklyn duo Mouthus has agreed to take up the slack on the guitar.. shredding beatifically along with Pete and Jonny T.. should be a rad nite

stay mellow