Ostraaly - Misery Guests [Siltbreeze]

To say that the vinyl release of Ostraaly's Misery Guests has overcome monumental challenges isn't hyperbole, but fact. The label had been in cahoots with principal band members Katharine Daly & Leonie Brialey as far back as the Luggs CD-R in 2016. Initially this release was to see vinyl action, but a series of setbacks prevented that from happening & when we next caught up w/each other it was 2019. Ostraaly was now a full on unit & a new set of tracks entitled Misery Guests was slated for a cassette issue by the estimable Tenth Court label. Katharine was quite keen for Siltbreeze to release it on vinyl & both sides set about to make it happen. Tenth Court released the cassette in Jan of 2020, vinyl to follow. However, a series of mechanical issues-a new track was added, artwork needed to be revamped-reared up & by the time it was off to press, Covid slammed shut the world. Diligence was the key here, as was hope. And as the world began to come out of its pandemic cocoon sometime in 2021, the project was on once more. But in the midst of retrieving new masters & artwork, Katharine Daly passed away unexpectedly, & that shock naturally put everything into what seemed to be a perpetual limbo. The years passed, but never the desire to see this album fulfilled. It was through the tenacity of the surviving band members, relocating & getting Siltbreeze the new masters & jacket art, that this LP finally sees the light of day as it was meant to some 5 years prior.

What you'll find within the grooves of Misery Guests is a band assuredly zoned into what they're laying down. It woozily rollicks in a way that's fetchingly out of step & swings in a rural-like, rough hewn manner that's unimpeachable. To say nothing of the out-of-time folk ruggedness stitched in, which makes these tracks seem almost plucked out of some mid-70's time warp that contemporary alt/retro bands could only dream of conceiving. And while its existence will forever remain bittersweet that Daly isn't here to embrace its ultimate fruition, her spirit is forever locked into every nuance of this stone-cold masterpiece. Dedicated to the memory of Katharine Daly & all who sailed w/her.

FFO: Fairport Convention, Etchingham Steam Band, 'Desire'/Rolling Thunder era Dylan, Patti Smith Group, The Garbage & The Flowers.