Owl Service & Alison O’donnell

***The story of this release goes back to a brief exchange between OWL SERVICE main-man STEVEN COLLINS and ALISON O’DONNELL (of the legendary Irish prog-folk group MELLOW CANDLE) on a social networking site in the Spring of 2007. Alison was intrigued by the sound of The Owl Service. Steven had been in awe of Swaddling Songs for many years and so a collaboration seemed inevitable. Containing two original Collins/O'Donnell compositions, a short instrumental interlude and two traditional reworkings. The original songs bookend the EP in perfect fashion and Alison's treatment of the original material in between is masterful. From the ominous opening track to the epic finale, the listener is taken on a journey through themes of life and death, all handled with a pathos and poignancy so rarely heard in modern folk music. This is a limited vinyl release of 500 copies through Midwich, with the CD being originally released through Static Caravan in 2008 and instantly selling out.