For their second proper full-length, this Oklahoman sextet has crafted a song cycle that subtly incorporates many disparate musical elements into a melange of bucolic folk bliss. Anvil Salute?s sinuous soundscapes straddle genres and ethnomusical boundaries, embracing drone, repetition, and beguiling melodies. This is music for late night desert campfires, the hazy cloud of guitar strum masking the frightening calls of mysterious beasts. And when the banjo coaxes the sun to rise Anvil Salute stand alone, crusaders of a revelatory eleventh commandment.

Leadoff track ?Whirlpool, Tortoise and Hare? sets the mood with harmonium drone and layer upon layer of guitar strum. A deep low-end throb drives the track down into your subconscious, ensuring that you?re hooked from the get-go. The ocean of shimmering guitar that is ?Plushies Unite? is an example of the lighter, folksier side of Anvil Salute?s cornucopia of sound delights. Its airy interlocking melodies provide perfect cloud-gazing material.

Dedicated fans of Anvil Salute will recognize the somewhat sinister stomp of ?Krofftland? from the Pink Gold cassette compilation released on the Gold Soundz label. A baleful drone soaks a guitar in whiskey and sets it ablaze, while a gang of madmen clap and stomp with glee. Somehow a saxophone gets worked into the mix, courtesy of Kasra ?George? Ahmadi.

Purity, bliss, and wistfulness ? this is as best a description of ?A Word With Every Apple? that I can muster. It?s a folk-pop gem, plain and simple. ?Platt National Forest 1919? brings on the banjo, and is an energetic romp through the fields that lay beyond the back porch. For some reason whenever I hear this song, I picture a group of drunken revellers dancing around in a circle, smiling and laughing and spilling their drinks in some bar somewhere in the Southern U.S. It reminds me of beer and whiskey and good times ? in other words, it?s a damn great song!

?Hidden Languages? a very pretty song, imbued with sentimentality. Originally written for the wedding of band member Todd Fagin?s sister, the track is decidedly lush, swaying with the summer breeze. The only song to feature vocals, ?Sugar Baby? is a gregarious take on an old standard, loosely based on a version by Dock Boggs. ?Stylish Cope? closes out the record with a roiling sea of stringed instruments and bells. It?s mesmerising.

Anvil Salute chose to release this album on their own Maritime Fist Glee Club imprint, which has a handful of releases to its name. However, most of their music has been released on other labels. At any rate, I?m looking forward to hearing more from these talented Oklahomans in the near future, and this record is highly recommended. 9/10 -- Bryon Hayes (29 January, 2007)