Crow vs Lion, the music and art project of Bucks County, PA’s Dan Gallagher, delivers a darkly poetic vision on his EP, Death Ballads for Dark Rooms. The four-track collection blends spine-tingling folk, atmospheric arrangements, and symbolic lyricism with impressive artistry.
The EP’s opener, “Lion in the Grasses” rouses with its chilling, visceral folk sound — joined by haunting vocal harmonies, plucky guitars, and forlorn strings. The “waiting for the kill” title-bearing comparisons present a sense of simmering horror, just laying low and awaiting as you approach. The strings during the “when they came to take me” bolster the cinematic-forward vigor, wonderfully foreboding and emotional.
The ensuing “First Law of Thermodynamics” moves with a more patiently unfolding folk intrigue, culminating in something gorgeously unsettling and introspective. “Ignore who thinks less of you” and other lyrical encouragements exude a sense of perseverance and self-confidence, rising into ghostly backing vocal effects as “go where the spirits glow” lyricism aptly emerges; it makes for an enjoyably spooky success on an EP that succeeds across all four of its tracks.
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These and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
