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April 2024 = |
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The Phoenix
Cube |
Kitchen Cynics /
Margery Daw / Grey Malkin
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V/A - Sacred
Songs of Mary Devotion
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Betty
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The Utopia
Strong
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Donovan's
Brain
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Trace
Imprint vs. the Other Folk
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THE
PHOENIX CUBE -
CAREFULLY PLACED STONES
Available
on Apple
Tree Lament
Terrascope
regulars will recognise Simon Lewis from his
numerous reviews and dozen years as our reviews
editor dating back to January 2004 (PT34). Lewis
also runs the Apple Tree Lament label to make
his various musical projects and collaborations
available to the public. He has released nearly
three dozen recordings to date, including the TEA-1
Compilation commemorating the first
Terrastock TEA Party in Oxford on the 10th
anniversary of the original Terrastock in
Providence, RI. Other projects include
fun(d)-raising efforts for the Terrascopaedia,
25
years of good clean fun
and Pressing
Matters
featuring a host of Terrascopic performers. The
Phoenix Cube is one of Lewis’s aforementioned
pseudonyms and here he explores the electronic
and drone side of his fertile musical mind.
The title track opens with a hypnotic
spoken-word intro about playing in the sandbox,
carefully placing stones into works of art -
“think about that” is the repeated mantra that
weaves around bells, gongs, and percussive
effects. The vibe reflects Hawkwind’s ‘You
Shouldn’t Do That’ vocal groove that becomes
more than just a lyric, but a vital component of
the music. A gentle rainfall battles arcade
electronic bursts as the song fades into the
cosmos.
‘Nothing
New’ is a more traditional folk tune with a
druggy Stonesy vibe a la ‘No Expectations’ with
waves and sea gulls adding a nostalgic cloak,
and the epic 14-minute ‘Awake The Sleeper’ is an
ambient collection of soothing sounds,
atmospheric tinkles, and swirling electronics
bleeps and bloops that are rather
contraindicative to a good night’s sleep but may
assist those late night after-party come downs.
A 21st century update to the KLF’s Chill
Out sessions (with a Giorgio Moroder
chaser)!
‘Alone’ is as paranoid as it’s title
suggests, with alien encounters (“We are not
alone” is a recurring warning) and electronic
madness run amok, but the birdsong and gentle
organ flourishes that welcome ‘Stillness’ is a
comfort, like revisiting Roger Waters’s
‘Grantchester Meadows’ in the summertime.
(Jeff
Penczak)
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KITCHEN
CYNICS / MARGERY DAW / GREY MALKIN - WEEPING
STONES
Available
on Cruel
Nature
So
what have we here? A faery cat and (to be
polite) an “untidy woman” discussing politics in
the kitchen at parties? Nae, it’s three of
Scotland’s most enigmatic multidimensional folk
artists armed with a psychedelic brush to paint
images and sounds with ambient textures, magical
conjurings, and a wee venture into other-wierdly
forests populated with ravens, rams, ghosts, and
lynching ladies for good measure. All in the
“spirit” of good clean fun, of course! There’s a
cornucopia of instruments producing these
beautiful sounds, including chimes,
phonofiddles, zithers (Daw), acoustic guitars,
pianets, and whistles (Alan “Kitchen Cynics”
Davidson), and electric guitars, mandolin,
synths, and xylophones (Malkin), so the room is
constantly filled with a joyful noise.
By way of an introduction, Kitchen
Cynics is, of course Terrastock veteran Alan
Davidson whose ever-expanding discography
exceeds three figures (and those are just the
ones he released on his own Les Enfants Du
Paradiddle imprint!) This is the trio’s first
collaborative release for the Newcastle tape
label Cruel Nature, although they have issued
several of Davidson’s previous releases. Malkin
may be familiar to readers from his numerous
projects, including The
Hare And The Moon,
The Black Swan Triad, Meadowsilver, and
currently Widows Weeds. Davidson and Malkin
actually met at a Shirley Collins’ comeback
concert and have since collaborated on a half
dozen albums. Their series of ghost-themed
lathe-cut 7” singles on the wonderful Reverb
Worship
label is particularly noteworthy and have just
(2 February) been reissued on CD (with bonus
tracks) as We
Are All Ghosts by Woodford Halse offshoot
Fenny Compton. This is where the trio first
performed together, as Daw added spoken word and
theremin to several of the Davidson/Malkin ghost
tracks.
Daw, a veteran of the ’70s Notting Hill
scene predominantly sets spoken-word pieces to
sound collages. Davidson and Daw met at our
Woolf 2 festival and her work has also been
issued on Reverb Worship. The duo also
collaborated several times and last year’s No
Bigger Fools, originally a streaming-only
release on Shambotic has been reissued on CD by
the Norwegian label Aaraas
Platemakar,
which was specifically formed for this release.
Now that’s a dedicated fan!
And now to the music at hand.
‘Changeling’’s haunting, weeping synths,
tinkling bells, and Daw’s delicately recited
lyrics (from the viewpoint of a mother who
suspects that her baby is a changeling left by
the fairies) combine for an eerie introduction
to the collection which smoothly segues into the
perfectly titled ‘Autumn Melancholy’, an
evocative tale from Daw backed by soft whistles,
chimes, and Davidson’s forlorn whistles adding a
fine, Gaelic touch. There’s a bit of a Wicker
Man aura hovering over ‘The Black Ram Of
Dunoon’, imbuing the album with a hint of a
Hauntological atmosphere combined with a love of
Scottish folk mysteries and mythologies.
Elements of the work of Alison
O’Donnell (Mellow Candle, et. al.) float into my
mind during tracks like ‘An Ancient Ghost’, and
fans of The Owl Service, Dodson and Fogg, and
United Bible Studies will likewise feel at home
amidst these comfortable, alt-folk surroundings.
Nasty goings-on precipitate a hasty retreat from
the evil that lurks within the ‘Lammas Fayre’
and the ‘Ladies Who Lynch’ - a veritable horror
show of Hammer-like
proportions, based on Malkin’s recent visit to
the annual August
Fayre
festivities in St. Andrews!
‘Margery In Union Terrace Gardens’
feels like a field recording accompanied by
ambient atmospherics that add up to a perfect
walk in the recently reopened regenerated sunken
Victorian gardens in Aberdeen. In fact, some of
the sounds you hear are Daw “playing” the large
chime bars that children use to create
improvised tunes. ‘The Earl Of Moray’ is a bit
of history revived from the the old Scottish
ballad ‘The Bonnie Earl o’ Moray’ dating back to
the early 17th century. Who says you
can’t pepper your musical endeavours with a wee
bit of education, particularly as an antidote to
the eerie sound effects-laden philosophical
wanderings of ‘The More I Think The Worse It
Gets.’ The gentle traditional lullaby ‘Sweet
Primroses’ holds its head high among previous
versions from the likes of Shirley Collins,
Fairport Convention, June Tabor, and The
Dubliners.
This extraordinary listening experience
comes to an end with ‘Red’ which combines all
that has come before - spoken word,
hallucinatory ambient sound collages, whistles,
tinkles, acoustic guitar, etc. in a hypnotic
wyrd folktronica sandwich which will surely feed
(and fill) your head with the sounds of
yesterday combined with the atmosphere of
today’s experimental adventurousness that’s
perfect fodder for the Terrascope faithful!
(Jeff Penczak)
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VARIOUS
ARTISTS – SACRED SONGS OF MARY DEVOTION
(CD,
Digital
on Valley
Entertainment)
This
is a collection of mostly choral works in the
sacred space, sung, as the title implies, in
devotion to Mary.
Its release was timed for the arrival of
Easter, though with our apologies, this review
just missed the holiday.
Here
comes another apology – your scribe is perhaps
the least qualified person ‘round these parts to
review this album; wrong language, wrong
religion, no familiarity with the liturgical
basis, etc. And
yet, I found these works moved me to my core.
So,
I’m afraid I can only go on feel.
But what a warm feeling it is.
Just as simply walking into a majestic
cathedral and taking in all the surroundings can
instantly fill one with its holiness, these ten
beautiful pieces grip the listener with a sacred
spirit, one which does not abate for its 52
minutes. In
fact, that air of sanctification can swell and
envelop the listener in its embrace.
The
album is part of a Sacred Songs series, and was
compiled by Ellen Holmes.
Performed mostly by choirs gathered from
around Europe, some of the works are performed a
capella, others have a low drone in the
background, while others include a small string
section. They
fill you with peace in their stirring
performances. Some
are even secular, such as David Darling’s
instrumental “The Beauty of All Things”
performed by a string quartet.
Trying
to choose favorites completely misses the point,
as, despite coming from ‘various artists,’ it’s
a holistic work, unified by its devotional
subject. But
if I must, “Hymn of the Cherubim from Liturgy of
St. John Chrysostom” performed by Norway’s
Kammerkoret Aurum, is especially stirring, as is
Renaissance composer Alonso Lobo’s “Versa est in
Luctum,” performed by England’s Monteverdi
Choir. “Caritas
Abundat in Omnia,” originally a text written by
German Benedictine abbess Hildegard of Bingen
around 900 years ago, is performed with
reverence and grace by Spanish husband and wife
Maite Itoiz and John Kelly.
She sings in her gorgeous soprano, while
he provides a light drone accompaniment.
It’s one of those tracks resounding with
the deep echo of a cavernous cathedral.
The
only track I was familiar with coming in was
“Ave Maria,” and despite it being an all-time
personal favorite, ironically, it’s the track
here I least enjoyed.
I felt the vocalist was trying to sound
too beautiful; this is a piece where Schubert’s
timeless composition and its hallowed subject
should be the focus, not the vocalist drawing
attention to themselves.
Or maybe I’m being too hard.
Sacred
Songs of Mary Devotion
is a digital release according to its BandCamp
page. However,
I was able to spy a CD version available on some
sites. The
collection is soul-cleansing and its compelling
performances leave the listener in a state of
deep peace and piety.
Rock and Roll can wait for a minute.
(scroll
down! Rock 'n' roll is thankfully much less
than a minute away! - Phil)
(Mark
Feingold)
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BETTY
- HANDFUL
(RidingEasy
Records)
Betty
was
a band out of Pasadena, California, who played
biker bars and dive joints.
This is a re-release of their lone
recording, a 1971 private press record of which
200 copies were made, and 13 original copies
remain in circulation.
They played a greasy brand of beer
swilling hard boogie rock, somewhat reminiscent
of Canned Heat and others.
Lead
singer
and guitarist Anthon Davis sounds like he’d
downed a few pints on the way to the studio,
plus a few more in it, and we’re all the better
for it. The
guitars are drenched in the kind of fuzz,
distortion and wah-wah they seem to have
perfected in ’71 and never bettered, and the
rollicking piano and Hammond rounds out the
boogified sound.
While some of the songs are
straight-ahead hard rock, others are in almost a
singalong form, dressed in distortion and fuzz.
And it’s all about good times.
The
subject
matter within is, shall we say, of its time.
The impossibly male chauvinist cover
tells you all you need to know what was on these
dudes’ minds, frequently with song lyrics to
match. Hey,
#MeToo was safely at least 45 years in the
future. On
lead track “Boogie With You,” Anthon Davis sings
“You’re the best woman that I’ve ever seen…or at
least that I’ve had.”
And on “Handful (Of Love),” he emotes
“Your woman’s cryin’?
Give ‘er a shove.
And get yourself a handful of love.”
Good grief, any minute now, I fear the
management might come shut me down and
confiscate my Smith-Corona...
On
“Harley
Perdoo,” he comes to the bar (where else) with
vengeance on his mind in search of the titular
character, who runs a sawmill on up the road,
for chewing him out.
And on a record like this, you just have
to a song about rolling on down the highway,
don’t you?, because well, that’s the law.
“High Rollin’ on the Freeway” more than
suffices.
Closer
“Lights
Gonna Shine” is about as distant an outlier from
the other tracks as I’ve ever heard on an any
album. It’s
almost like it’s a different band and a
different album.
The singer sounds like late ‘60s comeback
Elvis doing a piano-led power ballad.
But no, that’s actually the band’s other
guitarist Mike McMahon giving it his all.
I
can imagine more than a few beer bottles
crashing over heads while Betty performed in
their barreling style on a makeshift stage in
the back of the bar, with a clutch of hogs
parked out front.
Handful ain’t the best album of
2024, or 1971 either.
But it’s damn fun, and thank goodness
we’ve got it.
(Mark
Feingold)
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THE
UTOPIA STRONG – THE BBC SESSIONS
(LP/CD/DL from Rocket Recordings)
Cast
your mind back, if you can be bothered, to the
aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the end
of those seemingly interminable on-off
lockdowns. One of my reintroductions to indoor
gigs was a fantastic evening at a (shamefully)
sparsely attended Ludlow Assembly Rooms and
which provided a prime example of just how
powerful and moving The Utopia Strong sound in
an intimate concert environment. Recorded for
BBC Radio 6’s Marc Riley programme (and cheekily
spoofing the design of the Peel Session covers
of yore) these five tracks capture The Utopia
Strong in a quasi-live environment and which
extends their musical parameters beyond even
that which they have thus far delivered.
Many
will be familiar with the names of bandmembers
Steve Davis and Kavus Torabi, the latter being
the one-man cottage industry who has served with
Knifeworld, The Cardiacs, The Holy Family,
Guapo, as a solo artist and DJ of distinction
and who leads the current iteration of Gong.
Quite what he does with his afternoons is
anyone’s guess. It is, though, the comparatively
unsung ‘Third Man’, Michael York (Coil,
Teleplasmiste) who often shines most brightly
here, particularly when deploying his hand-made
pipes such as on ‘Lamp of Glory’, where he lends
a folksy edge occasionally elevating to a
whirligig, and transforming what might otherwise
have been a pleasant enough if workaday
‘wee-boing’ workout. It follows neatly from the
Harmonia-style, signal pulses and mini arpeggios
of ‘Miniature Citadels’ which serves as the
foundation on which yet more intricate and
edifying structures will be constructed.
‘Disaster
2’ is the only recognisable title from either of
their two studio albums to feature here, and on
which organ drones and pipes envelop Davis’
playful modular synth beeps. It’s longer though
no less stately or bucolic than on
‘International Times’, and just as gratifying.
The floating ‘The Tower is Locked’ glows faintly
at first before shimmering into an eerie
twilight (or dawn, if you prefer your glass half
full), replete with moaning chants that build
gradually to vie for centre stage. York’s
intervention on percussion at just after halfway
prevents this from being wholly mediative sit-in
around the flickering candle, as he not only
introduces a further note of dramatic tension
but coaxes the rest of the band into a canter.
Finally, there’s ‘Weather All’ (notice what they
did there, reader) referencing both the late,
great producer, and is ultimately posthumous
Conveanza festival which they played in
September 2022 amidst a biblical downpour. Here,
wordless vocals and ambient drones bleed into
dark edginess made flesh with skittery synths,
guitar and glissando. It’s a stirring 12 minutes
or so and a fabulous way to play out.
All
too often these archive/session recordings
feature comfortable, familiar selections and
serve as stopgaps pending the release of new
material leases or simply as a means of papering
over prolonged periods of inactivity. This is
something altogether different and special, too
– non-album selections, a live sound and
craftsmanship to marvel at. Summer will surely
beckon at some stage as will the prospect of
another The Utopia Strong appearance at Kozfest,
to which I eagerly look forward. As the old song
goes, feed me ‘til I want no more. And then
some.
(Ian
Fraser)
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DONOVAN’S
BRAIN - FIRE PRINTING
(Available
on Career
Records)
A
true sign of a dedicated band is its ability to
soldier on in the face of adversity. Never is
this more apparent than our Terrastock friends
from Montana, Donovan’s Brain. In the past three
years, not one, not two, but
three key elements of the band’s history passed
away, bassist Tom Stevens, drummer Ric Parnell,
and songwriter/guitarist Bobby Sutliff. Never
ones to rest on past laurels, mainstays Ron
Sanchez and Scott Sutherland picked up the
pieces and, with the aid of friends old (fellow
Terrastock performer Scott McCaughey from Minus
Five and Young Fresh Fellows) and new (drummer
Joe Adragna) stepped up to fill the enormous
gap. The result is their sixteenth album. Utilising
previous recording sessions, Parnell appears on
more than half the tracks (Donovan’s Brain are
well-known for their recording techniques and
often have albums’ worth of material to choose
from when preparing new releases). Sutliff’s
presence is felt throughout, particularly on
Beatlesque tribute ‘Hey Bobby!’
The latest offering is a three-part
suite of sorts, but don’t think “prog” and head
for the eject button. The Brain’s music has
always been built around melodies and Sanchez
and Sutherland’s guitar interplay, so that’s
your blueprint to build upon. Deniz Tek (Radio
Birdman) drives the bus on ‘Paper Pilots
Pushing’ with a screaming solo - tasteful,
sinewy, and just the right amount of “dirty ass
rock and roll” to prevent watch-checking.
Sutherland’s own guitar pyrotechnics wend their
way through ‘Scram The Reactor’ like Hendrix and
Neil Young throwing down the gauntlet and
challenging each other to a little string
bending contest. Sanchez’s heartfelt lyrical
tribute to Sutliff is a melancholic sendoff with
vocals and piano just this side of one of Ian
Hunter’s romantic ballads we love so much.
‘Unreal’ is another Sutherland pop classic, head
nodding and toe tapping, with one-man rhythm
section Adragna driving it home with his walking
bass lines and snappy drum work.
Adragna’s vocals are a little
overshadowed by Sanchez’s 12-string on ‘Sunset
Heart’ but there’s a soft undertow to the dreamy
vibe that imbues a nice Church-like glow, Marty
Willson-Piper’s jangly groove sets a signpost
and Sanchez delivers the goods. ‘How To Leave
Connecticut’ is one of those lazy, hazy bluesy
drunken swaggers the Stones excelled at
Parnell’s jackhammer drumming has never
been more powerful than on ‘Mirror Pieces’,
featuring words and vocals by Tony Miller
dropping by from Kentucky rockers Ideal Free
Distribution. ‘Stay Strong’, Sutherland’s
tribute to his Llama bandmate Jim Hunnicutt who
died last year is a dirgy funereal march with
Sanchez’s mourning mellotron and Scott’s weeping
delivery standing strong in the face of
adversity and unbearable sorrow. I might want
this one played at my funeral.
There’s an expansive vibe to ‘Spent All
Her Time’, a golden oldie written about 20 years
ago. It still retains the ghost of its original
formulation as part of a suite that was to
include ‘After The Main Sequence’ (which
ultimately landed on 2009’s Fires
Which Burn Brightly.) It’s rebirth in 2009
with Parnell was updated with Adragna’s vocals
and it works perfectly in its current
surroundings. The newest track just mixed a few
months ago is Sanchez’s eerie, avant garde solo
experimentation ‘An Echo Of Apology.’ Sleepy,
drawn out vocals body swerve elastic synths,
fx-laden guitars, and headswirling histrionics
that are the perfect embodiment of that old
studio banter on Tommy James and The Shondells’
‘Sugar On Sunday’: “Don’t worry about it guys,
it’s all in the mix.” Coming full circle, the
album ends on another string-shedding incident,
‘The Drumshanbo’ from Adragna, with Joe and Ron
trading firebreathing shards of metallic crunch,
distorted vocals, and proto metal shenanigans
that add a little punky spunk to the proceedings
and open up new vistas for future endeavours.
So despite all the heavy emotional
traffic that weaves through the album, the new
lineup comes through with shining colours,
delivering a strong album in spite of its
birthing pains. The band seems stronger than
ever with Sanchez stepping aside for more input
and songwriting from Sutherland and Adragna,
establishing the blueprint for future albums
which they are already planning and recording.
(Jeff
Penczak)
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TRACE
IMPRINT Vs. THE
OTHER FOLK – UNICEF (Gaza/Sudan fund for
children edition).
(Available
from https://traceimprint.bandcamp.com/mp.com)
UNICEF
has a long history of inspiring musical
expression in the name of good causes, most
notably in 1979 with the Year of the Child
concerts in New York and London (a precursor of
what Band Aid would achieve) and the first of
the ‘paying’ Glastonbury Festivals on its return
to Worthy Farm that same year. Sadly, like much
else in recent years, what was previously
uncontroversially philanthropic has become
weaponised to be deployed as part of the
so-called culture wars.
Thankfully
that hasn’t stopped Cornwall-based
musician/producer/ polymath Jon Chinn
(aka Trace Imprint) from embarking on a project
that was conceived before the current round of
tribulations in the Middle East but given extra
poignancy by events post 7th October
2023. In doing so he has amassed a fine
collection of tunes, executed in collaboration
with a host of tantalising names including
acclaimed actress Maxine Peake,
Weirdshire-collective mainstay Kate
Gathercole and – wowza - Terrascope’s old
mate Adam Cole, resplendent here in his Trappist
Afterland mask and cape.
Setting
the pace, Peake reads Edward Thomas’ ‘The
Bridge’, while Jon provides the viol (as he does
regularly throughout the album), guitar and
found sounds to construct the watery soundscape
shrouded in treacherous mist. Turning to the
unfamiliarly familiar we encounter ‘Farewell
Sorrow’ (Alasdair Roberts) where Alula Down’s
Kate Gathercole’s vocal track coaxed by Chinn’s
tasteful multi-instrumental arrangements and
Russian artist Needle into a Bug’s synth
accompaniment. Hushed, breathy vocal to the
fore, it stands comparison with the Roberts’
20-year-old rendition albeit more spectral than
stark, as might be expected of Gathercole’s
hauntologically inclined oeuvre. Trappist
Afterland, too, benefits from the gentle Chinn
stroking, fleshing out the immediately
distinguishable Cole devotional sound on ‘Orbs
of Christ’ and ‘Cacoon’ (the latter billed as a
face-off between Adam and the tag team of Jon,
Needles into a bug and Brithop producer/vocalist
Bugface).
An
even more mesmerising and ‘out there’ offering
comes courtesy of Dark Leaves (Pat
Aston), who if memory serves graced Weirdshire’s
Adam Cole headlined all-dayer in March 2023,
here supplemented by female vocal and Chinn’s
box of tricks (and a catchy bass line). Chinn
wades in with a number of selections of his own
– including a sprightly ‘O’Carolan Concerto’ and
‘There Is s Beauty In Tears’ based loosely on
John Renbourn’s renditions, and a delightful Jon
original, ‘Hay Foot’, sounding for all the world
like Edgar Broughton, late Harvest era, waylaid
during a mushroom hunt. Vying for top billing it
must be said is a fittingly spiritual ‘Written
In the Earth’ by Empty House (Fred the
Laird of Fleetwood) from the album Bluestones.
The only offering not subject to Trace
titivations, it succeeds in crafting Pink
Floyd’s ‘Scarecrow’ and Boards of Canada into a
reimagined theme for Penda’s Fen and something
altogether darned magical.
Throw
into the pot the reverb-heavy baroque goth of
Russia’s The Coast Ghost, the twisted,
lysergic Cornish folk soundscapes of Kathy
Wallis et al and two more Chinn
compositions, the breezy pastoral stomper ‘Heron
Pool’ and typically gritty Ted Hughes-themed
‘Fleeing from Eternity From The Crow’ and what
we have here is glorious fare from beginning to
end. It is indeed a tip-top collection
painstakingly compiled and arranged and which we
are told will manifest in physical form before
long. It also clears up an enduring mystery and
that is that Jon Chinn can be revealed to be the
Best of Bodmin.
Give
generously, it’s for the children. Besides which
your ears will thank you.
Ian
Fraser
(Note:
the album is free to download but donations can
be made here https://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/children-in-gaza-crisis-appeal/
)
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