sensitive / poor singer/songwriters presents :
Vollmar

CD (2004), CDR (2005), CD (2006)
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Bluesanct    Vollmar : Okay (US,2006)***°

Justin Vollmar is a man travelling in life, according to the label by bus, pursued by things that are lo-fi, while neglecting the booze and stoned kind of inspirations, not knowing what to do with the casual artists that need depressions to help the underground feeling stand up clearly, trying to neglect all their escapism-in-clouds feelings. But also Justin often ended up musically surviving on mattresses, surrounded by small paper notes of real heart-poetry remarks. In most songs, Justin Vollmar sings with more technically clearly recorded vocals than ever. In those best circumstances, with his clearly sounding voice, the remarks in the songs are a bit more guiding for a band music approach, filling the air with the comfort of a rock band sound. When I focus on the songs, it’s less noticeable, but this band is a bit of a strange thing (Nathan Vollmar on drums, bass with backing vocals by David Brant, and with keyboards by Dorey Fox). It seemed to be on the very edge of things, psych, with certain wacky looseness in the guitar fuzziness, and with loosely awake percussion, that sometimes gently drift and makes pleasure with rhythm, elsewhere just looks for things in the basement or backyard archives, or can’t really find his way out with the rhythmic focus and becomes seriously wacko, caused by a, well placed, emotionally drifting cloud piece of music. The conscious communicating poet with his diary of ideas still is there at the concept’s service, with a whole collection of several “Sorry Sue” ideas, in a way collected and comparable to his previously privately released CDR album, “4 separate things”.

On the last song you can hear the poor singer wandering on the streets with no place to live.

Homepage with audio : http://www.myspace.com/vollmarmusic
Other reviews : http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/review_detail.php?id=1772
& http://www.allegro-music.com/online_catalog.asp?sku_tag=BLE381
Label : http://www.bluesanct.com
BluesanctVollmar : 13 or so people who need chances (US,2004)**°

In a follow up to the newer Palace/BP Billie tradition, this is another homerecorded intimate American singer-song "-blue-blues" styled item with the poetry-of-the-evening-mood. This IS the poetry-of-the-evening-style. Like small film-shots. With some background wind, birds flying, or other things this places the situations into some kind of real reality picture. In this way this music was compared to experimental films like of Stan Brakage or Hollis Framton more than to some other musician. The quietness is of a Nick Drake-like mode, the subjects and expressions aren't.  After the 6th track, interlude with toypiano and lost sounds, the same quietness is this time played on an amplified guitar instead of the nylon guitar, which has a more echoed droning mix to the guitar which make the musical sound a bit more depressed than inspired, because in a very subtle way it overruns the quiet voice a bit, so giving it a different reflection on the underlying inspirative mood. The last playful track uses toypiano, handpercussion, organ and acoustic guitar, a song which concludes like with fun-fair-like romance. This is the second album by Vollmar.

Audio : "Lover, Won't You Bring Those Berries", "Who Have You Never Spoken With", "William, Go Away
Info : http://www.bluesanct.com/vollmarintro.html & http://www.bluesanct.com/orphan010.html
Other review : http://www.digitalisindustries.com/foxyd/vollmar_13orso.html
Orphanology   Vollmar : 4 separate things (US,2005)****

Orphanology is a nice name of a sublabel of Bluesanct with limited cdr-releases of saved recordings from the orphanage. In this case I think these recordings sound like little pearls saved from the scythe. These 4 EP like lo-fi recordings are really charming, and the songs have a kind of great innocence, and evolve, like a diary of small ideas of love. Also the remarks in between, the few noises and miniature soundscape- like ideas are perfect for it. All the songs are not throw-away-songs but should be saved from archive anonymity. Recommended !

Info : Justin Vollmar