Ballads of Seduction, Fertility and Ritual Slaughter

Curated by Ned Netherwood and commemorating the 50th anniversary of seminal folk horror film The Wicker Man, Ballads of Seduction, Fertility and Ritual Slaughter entices a fine selection of like-minded souls to dance the maypole. There's an impressive list of artists beckoned here, including Sharron Krauss, The Owl Service, Meg Baird and Michael Begg, among many others.

Burd Ellen's ‘The Highland Widow's Lament’ provides a suitably foreboding introduction, with echoing vocals and lingering drones all conspiring in a sinister soundscape of wind and rain. Andrew Liles’ ‘The Landlord's Daughter’ is a pure slice of theatrical menace – darker and more visceral than the playful original. Alvarius B's ‘Corn Rigs’, on the other hand, teases a fairly loyal interpretation of the film version with some darker notes and sounds thrown in for good measure.

Magpahi's ‘May Pole’ treats the dance to a psychedelic synth-laden journey, while Meg Baird's ‘Willow's Song’ beguiles with sublimely soft vocals accompanied by guitar.

All in all, Ballads of Seduction, Fertility and Ritual Slaughter perhaps doesn’t quite match the strangeness and threat of the original The Wicker Man soundtrack. What the record does do though is create a theatrical blending of modern sounds, traditional instruments and avant-garde soundscapes to create an equally unsettling yet thoroughly enticing soundscape. I can feel Summerisle calling.