August 27th, 2008
Old Growth. Under the Sun (Bakery Outlet)0 comments
August 27th, 2008
7-Inch Roundup | Two new 7-inch releases, one crazy migraine0 comments
August 27th, 2008
The Parson Red Heads. Thursday, Aug. 28 | The Silver Lake life treats these ex-Oregon gingers right.0 comments
August 27th, 2008
The Shape of Punk to Come | Judging Summerfector 2’s punk and hardcore bands by their logos.0 comments
August 27th, 2008
Clublist Spotlight • You Tanks Your Chances1 comment
August 27th, 2008
No Tux Please, We’re Jamming | Classical Revolution PDX takes chamber music out of the Schnitz and into the clubs.
August 20th, 2008
The Valiant Arms. Blue Skies and A Clean Getaway0 comments
August 20th, 2008
Paint and Copter. Friday, Aug. 22 | Just because the dudes from Paint and Copter are trippy doesn’t mean they’re not paying attention.0 comments
August 20th, 2008
Doubledutch. Gungle Dungn0 comments
August 20th, 2008
Friends Forever | Rawkers Kleveland and synth-punk jokers The Punk Group have a chat.0 comments
![]() IMAGE: Amy Annelle |
[January 23rd, 2008]
[PRE-FREAK FOLK] Portland’s musical landscape changes so quickly, invigorated and clouded by artists both homegrown and imported, that finding any real lineage can be a tricky prospect. Still, local legend Michael Hurley has a posse: He’s credited as an influence by a number of musicians both local (Little Sue, Pete Krebs, Amy Annelle) and national (Cat Power, Lucinda Williams, Devendra Banhart). His fan base, though, is a tad harder to pin down. On his 2007 album, The Ancestral Swamp, 66-year-old Hurley—who just as often goes by “Doc Snock”—gives us yet another reason to discover him.
If you knew nothing of the peculiar troubadour’s long history, Ancestral Swamp—out on Devendra Banhart’s Gnomonsong label—would still be a revelation. Hurley is direct and playful, delicate and powerful—an affecting songwriter with enough eccentricities to keep a listener guessing at every curve.
The album opens with “Knockando,” wherein Hurley’s voice sounds strong and sure as it climbs from damp spoken word to a wispy falsetto. An old hippie joke (“Have a glass of no-can-do”) transforms into touching natural imagery: “Can you hear/ The crackling heart/ Of the old pine wood?” Hurley asks.
There’s a sweetness in Hurley’s delivery that only age can provide. As with Johnny Cash’s American Recordings, Hurley squeezes more from these songs than a younger songwriter could (he says via his website that about half the tracks are covers, but even traditionals like “Streets of Laredo” are modified beyond familiarity). His singularity is most noticeable on sparse slow-burners like the electric piano-driven “Lonesome Graveyard” and the haunting “New River Blues,” where he sings touchingly, “Like a freed stream of light/ My heart jumped straight to you tonight.”
When Hurley is accompanied on Swamp , it’s by an all-local cast: his longtime bassist Dave Reisch (switching out with Lewi Longmire on one track) and guitarist-vocalist Tara Jane ONeil.
There’s more to say about Snocko: that he first recorded for the legendary Folkways label in 1964; that he’s included hand-drawn comics with nearly every release. But there’s plenty of time to discover all that—you’ll want to once you’ve heard Doc’s tunes.
RECENT COMMENTS ON “Michael Hurley Ancestral Swamp (Gnomonsong)”
without having background on ol' Doc Snock, nearly anyone would be entranced to go see him perform live. Hypnotic!!!








