Fosdyk Well - "slumber and stark lots" CD

Got this one for review, and, well, as much as it sucks having to review shit you don't care much about (if at all), it's pretty cool getting to do so with stuff you actually like. "Slumber and stark lots", huh?...pretty apt title for this baby, having a bit of both driving the songs. The 'slumber' bit does not imply at all that it's a boring record, and it's presented not in a dreamy, shoegazer-ish way, but in the hazy, confused way you feel when you finally get some sleep after three sleepless days on a speed binge and somebody wakes you up halfway through the night: confusedly stumbling, disoriented in your own room, somehow scared to death for the first 15 seconds. There's a definite ambient/cinematic feel brought forward by creepy background soundscapes which contrast perfectly with the crisp, stark (there you have it) guitars and slightly declamatory vocals that build the actual songs.
Yes, the promo sheets are right and there's echoes of Rivulets or Current 93 at their least epic on here, but at the end of the day, Fosdyk Well avoid the cliché stylings of 'neo folk' or whatever and simply deliver a solid set of moody songs stretching a bit over twenty minutes (perfect length for a record for those of us chastised by low attention spans after years of 10-song 7"s), wrapped in a nice, elegant layout, which would probably rule if it was on a 12" cover instead of a CD. But then again, if the only bone you have to pick with a record is its format, then you can't really complain.

Fosdyk Well on Bandcamp
Black City Records.