Wasps and White Roses is the new EP from Matt Bauer on Crossbill Records. It features 7 new recordings including interperatations of two traditional songs, harmony vocals from Mariee Sioux (harmony for Brightblack), Nathan Wanta (Last of the Blacksmiths), fiddle from Alisa Rose, and a duet with Jolie Holland. ************* "Carve It Out" unfolds like a mourner`s haiku. There is hushed solitude in the delivery of Matt Bauer`s haunting material, and this opening track - a duet with Jolie Holland - feels like a 100 year old still life from some remote Kentucky locale. Bauer`s core accompaniment is the banjo, mostly, played in such a way as to suggest authentic field recordings from ages ago. But his hushed, intimate delivery bridges the past with the immediate. When this 7-track EP has concluded you`ve felt transported by not only the chilling music but through his keen sense of lyrical imagery, both poetic and raw. Mariee Sioux is his vocalizing partner on the unhurried title track, and Nathan Wanta on the more uplifting final track, "Poor Robin". There are two traditional numbers, including "Heap Of Little Horses", which he sings as though it were the final lullaby. Wasps And White Roses will surely hit the mark if you find Richard Buckner and the Welch/Rawlings duo to your liking. -- Robinson, Miles Of Music (Crossbill Records) - Miles of Music Such achingly beautiful, weathered folk melancholia, this time with the added pleasure of female vocals accompanying Matt's on a pair of songs. Who might those ladies be? Why, noneother than Ms Jolie Holland ("Carve It Out") and Ms Mariee Sioux ("Wasps And White Roses"). Each voice compliments the other so well! Also making a couple of appearances are fiddle player Alisa Rose ("White Horse" and "Poor Robin"), and Nathan Wanta guest sings along on the last number "Poor Robin" too. Seven songs of which five are originals (three with vocals, two without), plus two traditional numbers. Wonderful! - Aquarius Records