Locust released their fuzzed-out ’60s folk-rock debut last month to relatively little fanfare, but holy shit, this band’s great—and way more Zeppelin and Sabbath than their woodsy name lets on. Then again, if you saw the name and thought “Jethro Tull,” you wouldn’t be wrong either. With heavy riffs that aren’t afraid to be melodic too, Apothecary Hymns—you’re gonna love this—won’t be sitting on a park bench for long. (Sylvester)

-The Village Voice

    It's a conspiracy of word and image.  The name Brooklynite Alex Stimmel has given to his solo project, as well as the title of his debut album and its cover art - a cluster of old-timey trinkets bathed in rusty light - suggests music that's locked in the past.  And while it's true that the record, much like the work of the Court & Spark (a San Francisco band Stimmel cofounded), effortlessly glides around the imaginary triangle that connects country, folk and psychedelia, the real nature of *Trowel and Era* is one of balance.  The deftly restrained way Stimmel brings his numerous instruments and influences to bear - often tilting in one direction or another without fully committing to any - makes the album seem fully contemporary.

    The opener, "Abandoned Factories," adopts a pastoral gait like that of Pink Floyd circa *Meddle* - but it's the second track, "The Father," that both suggests Syd Barrett and reveals Stimmel's gift for composition. The song's stream of instruments emerge in a perfectly ordered and proportioned fashion, not unlike the workings of a Swiss clock: a strummed acoustic guitar, a gently fuzzy electric, a tinkling keyboard, various bells and effects, and Stimmel's granular vocals all interact harmoniously.  Regardless of each song's inclinations - "All True Love is Happiness" vaults forward on a Sabbathesque lead; "In the Icy Beds" recalls (don't be afraid) prime Jethro Tull - Stimmel's careful framing unifies their sundry
elements into a well-formed whole. (Mike Wolf)

-Time Out New York

    One listen to this album and you'll imagine some long-lost Syd Barrett or Jethro Tull album, but in fact this is all the work of one-man-band multi-instrumentalist, whose folky name masks the prog rock at the core of his musical muse. The Dungen-like breakaway electric guitar sits on top of acoustic guitar, flute, analogue 'found sounds' and drums, with a voice that recalls British folk. In fact, this album does 'British' medieval better than the Decemberists, with enough psychedelia and rock to elevate the songs into a very listenable arena. There is an odd childlike theme running through the whole album, almost like a Brothers Grimm tale told through an early Pink Floyd filter. That the man makes music alone may be a blessing - it is hard to imagine others keeping up with his imagination.
ACE rating 8/10

-The Guardian UK

    Apothecary Hymns is the pseudonym of the Court & Spark's Alex Stimmel, who makes his full-length solo debut on this Locust Music release. Whereas Stimmel's other band has more of an alt-country feel, this project is filled with a '60s vibe that will probably be very appealing to fans of southern California psych revivalists like Beachwood Sparks and Greg Weeks' band Espers. I've seen a lot of other reviews that have compared Stimmel to Syd Barrett, but I'm hearing more of a Meddle-era Pink Floyd sound going on, and other moments are a little bit reminiscent of early Brian Eno. Toward the end he goes into more of a garage rock thing with fuzzy guitars and Rhodes organ. Overall it's a nice record, ably written, produced and arranged, and not quite as druggy as the band name might lead you to expect. (RH)

-Other Music

    Throw in the "trowel," you freaks!: Continuing today's freak folk theme, Apothecary Hymns lift from psy-era Beach Boys ("Feel Flows," "Surfs Up"), similar stoned cousins Moby Grape, and even Syd Barrett on their debut, Trowel And Era (Locust). Truth be told, this is an old release (2005) but Apothecary Hymns presciently forecasted the whole freak folk thing with this, their lone release.  The nom de plume of one Alex Stimmel, AE single-handedly operate acoustic and electric guitars 6- and 12-string guitars, banjo, bass, drums, Wurlitzer, synth, organ, flute, recorder, kalimba, autoharp, glockenspiel, voice, and tape manipulation. But unlike most modern freak folkers, AE's tunes are lashed with energy and insight, from the galloping "In The Icy Beds" and the Appalachian Monkees warble of "Watching The Bays" to the urgent country and western waltz of "The Marigold." AE sings like a confused adolescent throughout the album, but it only adds to the feeling of merriment and disturbed playfulness. AE also loves to wash in the ambient space rock sink, as heard in "The Conclusion, In Which Nothing Is Concluded," a brief sea journey of bell overtones, backwards guitar and feedback. Conversely, "A Sailor Song" recalls the Band or the Byrds, all jangling instruments and yearning vocal. A superb effort, a great surprise, and at this point, lost to the ages.

-Yahoo Music

    Trowel & Era takes up the promise of their great 7", adds some distinctly Brit-psych tongue interlocutions, and comes up smelling like very sweet hay. They really approach all this stuff pretty straight on, but the rockist touches (sporadic guitar loudness, wide ass bells, momentary pseudo epic surging) give things a feel somewhat akin to what later Pearls Before Swine lps might have felt like with Bill Harkleroad guesting. Very cool.

-Arthur

    A one-man band from Brooklyn’s enigmatic nine song full length that has more ways to dazzle you than the oldest redwood has rings: Alex Stimmel calls on bundles of instruments to ripen his songs of grand depth and inspire an inviromentalists wonder of nature. His psychedelic disposition never gets freaky and his clever guitar work frames his sugarplastic-esque tales of thought provoking existentialism and the greater world to lip-smacking results.  (Sarah Moody)

-Punk Planet #69

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