V/A curated by Was Ist Das: Ballads Of Seduction, Fertility And Ritual Slaughter (digital, Was Ist Das, June 2023)

I guess that there’s a case to be made that a collection of (loosely speaking) avant-/psych-/drone-folk covers of the soundtrack to The Wicker Man is a bit of a niche endeavour. But if your ears pricked up at that description, then I urge you to go seek this record out, ‘cos it’s cracking good stuff. (It doesn’t seem to be on streaming services, so I suggest you head on over to bandcamp and, if you like it half as much as I do, do the right thing.)

There’s a great mix of stuff in here. It kicks off with Burd Ellen turning The Highland Woman’s Lament into a thing of slightly dissonant layered and stretched-out vocals with moments that make me almost think of Ligeti. Elsewhere, Andrew Liles (who has worked with everyone from Faust to Nurse With Wound) turns the cheerfully baudy The Landlord’s Daughter into a franky disturbing thing with a distinct creepy-carny vibe, Hawthonn turn Lullaby into a drone nightmare, The Banshees of Bunworth’s Searching For Rowan alternates between a widdle-de-wee fiddle workout and a prog-rock guitar and Hammond job, and Michael Begg takes the rather sparse opportunities of the original Appointment With The Wicker Man and creates a wonderfully atmospheric field-recordings soundscape.

Other tracks are done straighter, such Good Shepherd (a one-man outfit from Cambridgeshire) and Maydo Kay doing Gently Johnny and Meg Baird doing the iconic Willow’s Song, which are both rather beautiful, with just a slight sinister edge.

I would argue that a good cover version needs to do two things. Of course, it must sound good on its own terms. But it should also make you notice things you’d not heard in the original. This collection has an astonishingly high hit-rate on both counts. And I certainly found myself paying more attention to the lyrics than I do when watching the film. (Those of a delicate disposition may wish to take care here: it’s possible that you might find yourself wondering if, say, The Tinker Of Rye — wonderfully done here by The Owl Service and Harriet Bradshaw — is not actually about mending a kettle. Although this version, sadly, misses the bit at the end of the original where the tinker and the maid squabble about whether her kettle is too battered from over-use or whether his nail is inadequate.)

This was clearly a bit of a passion project for label boss Ned Netherwood (just read him geeking out on their website). And, by my reckoning, it’s a triumph.

I bought this from the label’s bandcamp page.