Amps For Christ refers to its music as "folkcore", "musical noise" and "musnik", and lead songwriter Henry Barnes continues to record in a manner that hasn't strayed from his original approach of lo-fi methods through unconventional means. This includes many of the instruments Barnes uses, which he invents -- or, at the very least, he tinkers with standards until he's created his own. His work as Amps For Christ has two essential qualities that propel it beyond its modest origins: adeptness and breadth. None of the musicians on The Oak In The Ashes suffer for lack of ability, as intricate melodies of all types are expertly performed. And yet, no matter how varied these styles are, the homespun manner in which they are recorded intones a comforting intimacy that's rare to find in high tech productions. On Electrosphere, a double album from three years ago, Amps For Christ arguably reached the pinnacle of their folk pursuit, placing American and British musical histories within an alien context of offbeat arrangements and a healthy dose of noise. The Oak In The Ashes goes beyond that into other traditions, including Indian raga, free jazz and spoken word poetry. The poetry is rather simplistic, but its inclusion is an ambitious celebration of sincere marginalia over slick pigeonholes, and an album of twenty-three tracks works best when taken as a dazzling, varied whole.