Release Date: 9th May 2025
Quiet and determined, Alden and Patterson’s sophmore album is like the brightest and warmest of family photo albums.
Alden & Patterson must have built a very good well of inspiration during Covid.
While I was making daily trips to the Co-op for something to do, they must have been meticulously digging the ground, assembling the most burgundy of bricks, and finding some super fresh water to drink from. We say this because their new album, “Safe Travels”, successfully continues in the vein of cool songwriting from this troubled time where much of their first album’s (Hunter) material was created. The duo themselves say that the songs feel, “like old friends that have travelled many miles with us, while others came about in the final stages of production”. The songs of old and new have been coherently arranged; we certainly can’t feel the seams between the patchwork squares of ideas about travelling home, environmentalism, and the fears and joy of childbirth, which are all present.
As we start, who are Alden & Patterson?
Christina Alden & Alex Patterson are a duo in the folk tradition who perform as multi-instrumentalists and songwriters from East Anglia. A joyful two-some, they released their first album “Hunter” in 2021 and have been described as, “A milestone for contemporary folk songwriting” (Bright Young Folk) and “gorgeous harmonies and lush melodies (BBC Countryfile) and kind words for this new album have already reached their ears from the BBC radio 2 show, and BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson have called it, “strong contemporary songwriting rooted in the folk tradition”. In short, they are a well-regarded modern folk duo with a wide and natural appeal.
The success of “Hunter” was a milestone for them both; “Safe Travels” started its life in 2022 and, like a pair of boxing fists, a double hook of important moments. Firstly, the album’s writing begins, “as the world was emerging from a global pandemic”, a time when the UK was elated about the return of recognisable public life. The other strike is on a personal level, as the album is a celebration of the couple welcoming their daughter, Etta, into the world. While listening, there is the sensation that these themes are interlinked and held together by an underlying message of pro-environmentalism and curiosity of the natural world. The character of the songs point towards those gentle walks, that sense of attunement with the Earth and possibly the idea (that to a greater or lesser degree) that since Covid there could be a reconsideration of what is important. It is interesting that in the 3 years from that time to final release that aura still permeates this work, like the essential vanilla essence passed from the oak cask, through the juice of the barley of your favourite Scotch tipple.
Let us take a look at some of the album tracks themselves.
The title track of the album, “Safe Travels” is one of those tips of the hat towards, the pat on the back to your friend’s snow covered tweed jacket, or quite simply, “a quiet hymn for a road”. This song.has a winding guitar, and its rustic, heartfelt baseline of lyrics set the heart and soul at ease, “my mind is turning with the things I should say.. When you are leaving far away”. The words etched on the well-wishing mind spill out slowly and purposely, the sense of calm is like the creak of that wooden cart as Gandalf rides into the Shire smoking his pipe weed. We very much enjoy the sentiment behind this one, a kind human interaction wrapped up in a lovely melody.
“The Mountain Hare” is an intriguing prospect. It is not an unfamiliar motif in folklore and associated music but still nevertheless welcome. Alden and Patterson paint a sensory picture of fading light, and snow that reaches down into the hard ground as it speaks of the hare of the song (from the uplands of Scotland) which has evolved to change its coat as a survival method (from brown to white in the Winter). This track, like the creature bounces along and is the perfect sound for softly motivating on that peak challenge, or popping into the player on your car as you navigate those bends that are taking you to your rest; your pause from the urban sprawl. Like much of the album, the lyrics are concise and warm.
“Etta’s song” is a good track. Exuding the warmth of parenthood, the scene is painted with the yellow strokes of early morning birdsong that is mixed into the track. There is a lot to like: the violin is lightly carrying for its solos throughout the song, John Parker’s double bass adds to the feeling of those cutting late nights where your child is awake, it is the rhythm of your sleepfulness. Alden’s voice is on point as she, “sing[s] you stories of old”. It is a good companion song to “The Starless Sea”. “Etta’s Song” is the idea of being basked in love and tiredness with “The Starless Sea” being like the unformed promise to a child not yet born for joy and protection. It has a fast jangle of guitar and hot chocolate sentiments towards keeping the little one, “warm, safe and sound” and thus to, “row you home”. The idea of a starless sea could be the little one looking up in the womb with its new eyes awaiting its first day in the bigger world, the dark before the light.
Our choice for favourite tracks are between, “The Old Weather Station” and “Our House”. “The Old Weather Station” is one of those songs that evokes the feeling of history throughout its imagery. About an old polar weather station on Wrangel Island, the polar bears have moved in making an “unlikely home”. Everything comes together from the expressive strings, the rhymes and build-up in energy, the protection from the lashings of weather to come, “here comes the storm on the back of the tide, the wind and rain follow behind”. We love the imagery and we stay for the history of that place and great melody. The sense of survival and resilience comes through the track and makes it special.
“Our House” is a track about Alden’s childhood home. It’s a callback to Christina’s family upbringing where her parents had music sessions, and the kids of all the musicians played together while music travelled through the house. Listening to the music through the thick door must have been a simple yet highly influential joy. The domesticity of the cramped space, the musical instruments and family dynamics bounces along with the gentle plucks. The rolls of the bass help, it all paints a vivid memory. It is like a less fantastical kitchen-sink Megson song (maybe their family track, “Baby and the Band”) played less for comedy and more for the love of music and the influence of our families on our lives.
So how best to sum-up “Safe Travels”?
In part it really seems like a time capsule, an artifact of that intersection of life events in 2022. Not too dissimilar to their first work, this one is also personal to the duo and feels like an album a lot of people will hold dear due to the universal themes of parenthood, family and a splash of nature . Even when tackling the weightier stuff like environmentalism, its presentation of these issues is quite subtle, it doesn’t overwhelm. It’s a bit like gravy in poutine, it might not be apparently the forefront of the dish, but it’s been there all along and is one of the fundamental keys of the food’s success. The album is not about spinning complicated, meta-textual lyrics or seeking to further a political message, but it is like the river of your thoughts that flow when you see a beautiful landscape or share a story with your family.
“Safe Travels” is available from most stockists, we recommend buying directly from the artists at https://christinaaldenandalexpatterson.com/ where there are also details of their extensive UK tour which at time of writing is underway!