Concept albums, don't you just love 'em?   Well, maybe.
Their success depends not just on spinning a good yarn but also in being able to tie the story together with memorable tunes.
Jimmy Hughes - best known as a guitarist for Elf Power - has assembled his musical buddies from Athens, Georgia for an ambitious project centred on a fictional rural legend of upstate New York named H.W. Beaverman.
The story is told through nine songs (and two instrumental tracks) narrating what Hughes calls a backwards rumor tree. So,at the outset, Beaverman is a menacing spectre while by the end he is a relatively benign figure in a diner and not a ghost at all.
The perspective on this urban myth varies to the extent that he is perceived as a dangerous psychopath or harmless prankster.
At the centre of the story is the mysterious and unexplained deaths by drowning of some Army Cadets on 'Beer Island', Lake Bonaparte.
The vocalist for each song is different, with singers assuming the roles of various townsfolk like the bartender and pharmacist. Only Hughes himself sings on more than one song.
The tracks showcase standard indie instrumentation which is augmented by brass and string acompanyment. This gives an overall feel of a half hour Baroque psych-pop opera very much in keeping with the offbeat lo-fi style of Elephant 6 collective from which many of the contributors are drawn. The role of Beaverman himself, for instance is 'played' by Neutral Milk Hotel's Scott Spillane. That band's sublime 'In The Aeroplane Over The Sea' might have supplied a working template for Jimmy Hughes songcraft which has many of the same quirky qualities.
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What the Folklore project lacks is the ability to weave the narrative thread of the tale into truly memorable song structures. I understand the logic behind Hughes' decision to dispense with the standard verse-chorus-verse format but the consequence here is that the songs largely come across as extracts from interview transcripts with a tune tagged on.
For example, the vet's account begins with the line "Here you are, come on in and have a coffee" and proceeds to recount how Beaverman loved to play hoaxes on unsuspecting victims. What may be interesting on the page is less compelling in song form.
Hughes' concept is nevertheless an intriguing and original one. The album features accomplished ensemble playing and I wouldn't rule out the possibility of the songs working effectively with a strong visual presentation, say in a multi-media stage show or as a soundtrack to an animated film.
Taken in isolation the elegantly presented CD package is not enough to animate the ghost.   Â
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