Every time I try to describe the band Yoke Shire, I find myself breaking into a list.  There is no simple one, or two-word way to talk about this unique, versatile, and thoroughly entertaining band.  Whether it's in style, instruments, influences, fans, or even describing a single song, there always seems to be a list, often a long one.

     Let me show you.  Yoke Shire's latest release "Masque of Shadows" begins with a short classical-styled church organ piece of just less than a minute.  After only a moment's pause, a fat funk bass line thumps in.  A raspy growling guitar parallels it up an octave.  This is quickly joined by a polyrhythmic drumbeat with a Latin edge.  The effect is rounded out by low otherworldly voices chanting on about a mysterious woman with wine behind an oaken door.

     As the song progresses through it's six-minute length, it hits phases of (here's the list) pure metal, fusion jazz, classic rock a la Yes, and finally a closing minute of Latin rock that would make Santana proud.  All along the chorus chants the cryptic, "Through my travels I have seen."

     The sense of journey is a theme throughout the album.  And the band travels through a large group of musical styles.  Progressive rock, blues, classical, prog. metal, gothic, folk, heavy metal, classic rock, funk, and even jazz go into the list of styles that show up when this band plays.  "The way America's a melting pot, Yoke Shire is a melting pot for all musical styles," chuckles Yoke Shire guitarist Brian Herlihy.

     This point comes home even dearer when you look at a list (I shortened it to give you a break) of just some of the bands that reviewers use to describe Yoke Shire: Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa, Queensryche, Pink Floyd, Red Jasper, Fairport Convention, Santana, Led Zeppelin, Tempest, Yes, Ted Nugent, and Dream Theater.  "You feel good that you're hitting something unique," says Brian. "Because if we sound like all those different people, that's got to be something unique."

     Joining many musical styles in a personal and unique way has given Yoke Shire a wide variety of fans.  They range from (here's another list) young gothic and progressive rockers to older folk and classic rock fans.  "I think a lot of people have kind of resigned themselves to listening to older classics," says Brian.  "They don't expect new bands to come along that they're going to like. When they hear something like this, they're surprised and psyched."

     Yoke Shire fans can be found in 17 different countries.  The Internet has helped create fans in far away places like Uzbekistan, Germany, Finland, and Argentina.  It has also gotten them a concert gig in Panama City, Panama.  Their recent show at Chantilly's in Manchester was broadcast live on the Internet on Radio-Boston.com.

     The Internet is just one piece in a growing success story, that has taken a lot of hard work.  "We've been working day and night, really hustling this thing," says Brian, who among other things is the band Web manager.  "It's taken years and years," he continues "the fans come and they stay because when they come to the shows it's exciting and cool.  When they buy an album it's good beginning to end.  They say 'wow, that's quality. I want to stand behind these guys'.

     The creative force behind this quality music is Craig Herlihy, Brian's younger brother.  He writes both the music and lyrics for most of Yoke Shire's songs.  He also did an outstanding job of producing their album (with excellent engineering from Jim West, winner of Jam Reader’s Pix 2000 "Engineer of the Year" for his work with Yoke Shire).  Everything fits flawlessly together.  The music is balanced well with the vocals and both are clear and distinct.  There are many layers of sound here and they're constantly changing.  Transitions are only abrupt when they are supposed to be, otherwise everything is seamless.

     Amazingly, all this wonderful sound is created by just three musicians without a lot of overdubbing.  Brian plays several different guitars including a double necked 6 and 12 string, which is run through three different amplifiers for various effects.  The drummer, Brad Dillon, plays an elaborate drum kit that includes a variety of percussion pieces and a glockenspiel.  "Frequently, he's got different parts going on each limb, and he'll be singing at the same time," says Craig of Dillon.

     Brian has a similar description of Craig, "There's a lot of limbs working there.  You'll see Craig with the flute in one hand and his other hand on the keyboard, and playing some bass pedals and singing."  The full list of Craig's instruments is a lot longer: Flute, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, bass, harmonica, dulcimer, mandolin, bass pedals, theremin, marimba, and melodihorn.

     I can't vouch for Craig's skill on all these instruments, but on the ones I've seen him play, he was proficient and sometimes brilliant.  It is hard to believe that a band that has created such a lush and elaborate album could recreate the same music on stage, especially with just three musicians.  Amazing but true.  The smoke machine and the light show is the only real discernible difference between the album and live show.  And they do both without sampling, sequencing or drum machines.

     "We've decided not to employ any of those things, because we've found that for us the best way to get the essence of the music is just directly," says Craig.  "The way we're doing it, it's more of a spiritual thing where you're directing yourself through an instrument that's responding right there.  There are so many variables that can happen when you have a real instrument that you're playing.  The subtleties that go into all that are what make the music so much more profound."

     What Yoke Shire has been able to create is an atmosphere of emotion and mystery in both their music and their lyrics.  The music touches you from head to toe, physically, emotionally, and intellectually.  It starts down low with Dillon's drums and the bass line. The rhythms make direct contact.  When it's live, it is as if someone were banging a hole in your chest.  The sound ripples through your body.

     The music touches you emotionally.  The melodies are somehow familiar, ancient and modern at the same time - half-remembered notes from folk songs, church music, and classic rock albums.  The instruments and voices rise and surge around you.  One minute it's the soft delicate tinkling of keyboards or glockenspiel, the whisper of a flute or the soft harmonies of a choir.  The next moment, the music charges at you.  The flute is shouting, the guitar bites and hacks off great shards of music.  The sound is twisted, choked, and dragged into strange distorted notes..

     The lyrics are dark and mysterious.  They shape bare outlines of stories that recall ancient times.  "We try to leave them open," says Brian, "so that the listener can draw their own picture. &Mac247; That way the songs can stay with you for your whole life, because as you change, your picture changes with you."

     "The idea is the journey experience through a piece of music," offers Craig.  "Let the lyrics take you where your perception of it leads you. Using the imagination is what it's all about."

     This band's journey began six years ago when they came together as Yoke Shire.  Of course, the roots started much earlier as the Herlihy brothers grew up listening to classic rock and jamming together in their living room in the Boston suburb of Chelmsford.  Dillon also grew up in Chelmsford and they all played together at various times during and after high school.

     Their shared backgrounds have given them a special rapport.  "We love to play music and we've got a great band situation," says Brian.  "The three of us are all in sync and heading in the same musical direction.  That's a great thing because you feel stable.  It's not a tug of war like you see in some bands."

     The ultimate piece of creative imagination and special rapport in Yoke Shire's new album is their central song trilogy: "Maiden Voyage," "The Brook, The Mirror And The Maiden" and "Return Voyage."  On the album it runs 17 minutes and in concert the band has been known to stretch it to almost half an hour.

     This is a collective piece that travels through all aspects of the Yoke Shire style.  The beginning and the ending are as hard as anything on the album, but the center section has a lyrical softness and a beautiful otherworldliness.  Verbal and musical themes weave their way through as the listener travels on an almost mystical journey, that comes full circle.

     "Some of the parts just grab your heart," says Brian.  "And I had that feeling when we were in the studio. It took a few months to complete the tune.  During the course of it, you're hearing tapes and you're like, ‘oh my god we have to get this out’."

     "This is unbelievable material," Brian continues.  "It's been an inspiration to us.  It's like we're doing the right thing."

     It doesn't take a list to know he's right.  All it takes is one listen.