Posted on Foxy Digitalis, Tuesday, August 7, 2007:

This is a LoFi Shit release but in fact it is anything but. Lo-fi, maybe, but definitely not shit. Looking at the cartoonish cover illustrations, I didn’t expect much from “All the Animals of the Forest”. It took me a while to work through the review pile and to realize that this stunning cdr is full of wonderful [sic.] folk pop tracks that blend strings, percussion, the occasional sax and a lot of other instruments to create tracks that are sometimes meticulously arranged and sometimes more like a free jazz session. Nine musicians are listed in the insert but the Anvil Salute websites says the Oklahoma-based band currently consists of six people.

Anvil Salute’s earlier releases include tracks for the Digitalis “Wailing Bones” series and the “Gold Leaf Branches” compilation, the Foxglove cdr “A Discreet History of Bone”, “New Crusaders of the 11th Commandment” on the band’s own Maritime Fist Glee Club imprint and a self-titled cassette on Nerd Party Records. With its independence and its playful interest in bucolic sounds and sonic landscaping, All the Animals of the Forest” shares more than one attribute with recent freefolk releases. But as it replaces narrative structures by repetitive, non-linear patterns, the album does also work within an electronic or advanced indie context. Some tracks, like the magnificient “Shape to Endless Middle”, remind me of the instrumental tracks of American Analog Set, all grace and unobtrusive beauty. Rich percussive textures provide an urgency that is all but contained by an assuring bass and a guitar that keeps moving in and out of line, as if exploring the thicket on both sides of the hypnotic highway that is this track.

“Shape (to the Endless Middle)” is my favourite track on this album but honestly it doesn’t get much less inspiring than that for just under an hour. Next up, for example, is “Golden Spiral” with a brilliant saxophone part that is carried by a rhythm both diverse and played super tight. Sunblessed and a hymn to the beauty of the world, this album infuses you with an overwhelming sense of freedom. In that it can be compared to “Eingya” by Helios or to some North Sea tracks. Elsewhere, the psychedelic mantras of the last Grails album come to mind. This recording gives testimony, to me at least, of how much the independent music scene has to offer. Even if the final – and title – track is a bit too long and fails to build up dramatic effect: A decent booklet and / or a nicer packaging would have earned this lo-fi shit full credits. 9/10