Categories
Album/EP Reviews Americana Folk Music

EP Post Autumn 2016 #1: Steve Grozier (Take My Leave)

Hi all, I have had some interesting things coming through the mailbox in recent weeks (several in some cases).

I have finally had a chance to listen to it all and wanted to share the musical endeavours these artists are striving for early on their road to fame.

It is always exciting to find something new, so check out the first of my EP posts to get a lowdown on what I have been hearing.

First of all it’s Steve Grozier.

Steve Grozier (EP) Take my Leave 2016 – Released September 16 (BatCat Records)

Website: http://stevegroziermusic.com/

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Track List:

(1) Drink Before Dawn

(2) Porcelain Hearts

(3) Take My Leave

(4) Ringing of the Bells

Just as the Autumn has taking full hold, the leaves are changing to a more varied, vibrant mass the sun draws back and our days are not as long now.

“Take me Leave” feels like an album for this time of the year. There is sun and heat here, but it feels more like the heat of smoldering bbq embers: the food is cooked, now the bonfire and whisky spirits beckon. As a vampire tries to remember the day, the writer here is looking somewhere from memory for his inspiration. Steve wrote the songs on this EP whilst living in Canada and admits there is some pain in their reworking and re-recording with a new band as it unearths a relationship which I am presuming did not end well. Away from Scotland and in the USA, on return this EP has been crafted. It is tinged with a little melachony as it has been recalled; the coal has been prodded and the heat is spreading about the same way memory can ignite. Produced by Andrew Graham and with supporting musicians Roscoe Wilson (guitar, lap steel), John Dunlop (bass) and Dillone Hall (drums and percussion) we are brought a series of songs based around these memories with the predominant emotive element in the work being regret and nostalgia,which is channelled throughout.

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The first track “Drink Before Dawn” does sound somewhat wistful in it’s way with words and music. A bouncy track which you can imagine being performed during a sunset, it gives you a snapshot into that silent time at night when thoughts are racing. The smell of Bourbon is all around, the song projects a feeling of the US, one wonders if Steve is sat on a porch somewhere with the spirit soaked into it’s wooden frame. The track has a gentle warmth and is tinged with optimistic sadness. There are no doubts that it very closely resembles a personal memory,  “it’ll creep up on you like an old Summer rain, and you won’t even notice til it’s gone.” Steve develops a convincing rapport with you in this track. It is a grounded number with minor flickers of arrangement that hint at the fallibility of memory. Overall a good number which touches on this dream-like quality of thought.

“Porcelain Hearts” is a similar affecting tune. Grozier has regrets as in the first song but he does bring some nuance as it does sound quite different, perhaps less efflorescent than “Drink Before Dawn.” It is more like the clear thinking, head-shaking worry that someone in later life might have in the morning when they are giving their arms and legs a shake to get them moving, “I’m old, oh lord I’m old.” Purposeful and regretful it is a rainy afternoon in a bar, a feeling of being sad and still in a place of movement. The third track “Take My Leave” is quite memorable for it’s swell guitar accompaniment and a bass that warbles in rapt reminiscence. The songwriting is quite introspective, the lyrics are pretty good in themselves and communicate some shared themes, though probably not as many as when I listen to particular folk tracks. I suppose what we have is a humbler, perspective of love one which the sound mix here allows Steves lyrics and voice to take centre-stage. The final track “Ringing of the Bells” reminds me of the Dire Straits for some reason. Alongside “Drink Before Dawn” it is one of my favourite of the tracks here and one which I feel conveys what Steve is trying to say in the best way. The guitar has a few snappy layers of Americana, the lap steel guitar adds a great deal too, and Grozier’s voice spirals all around with it being at it’s most emotive and accomplished in those two renditions.

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The package you get is a melodic set of tracks with some considered lyrics. The EP feels like it is in orbit of this other place and time in Grozier’s life; there is no denying it closely reflects the act of looking back and it quietly broods like the sun setting. Grozier’s words and voice do sound older than his years, are heartfelt, and he gets some decent mileage in these four songs from these experiences. It has a feel of Americana whilst not swimming in it, it is part this and part of an introspective sound somewhat like a less USA Steve Pledger.

Check it out, particularly if you are an acoustic fan. The theme is quite specific which some will like, others maybe less so but there are things to take from this release either way. I often prefer tracks with a deeper folk relationship, but pleasantly I don’t get a feeling of fatigue from this showcase of tracks here which for me is a positive sign about what Grozier has done.

Steve has a couple of dates left on his tour in Glasgow, check them out here, if you are interested in the EP you can buy that here for £4.

Categories
Album/EP Reviews British Modern Arrangement Sea Folk

Kate Rusby – Life in a Paper Boat (album review)

Artist: Kate Rusby

Pure Records

http://www.katerusby.com/

An album of precise and selective instrumentation that concisely builds atmosphere and quality. Kate Rusby continues her good works through effectively combining traditional words and material with modern arrangements with a final product that impresses across the board.

Kate Rusby as we know is pretty much a folk music staple now. She has won practically all of the BBC2 Radio Folk Awards in a number of categories (Best Live Act, Best Album, Best Original Song, Folk Singer of the Year) to the point where she might have to create a new identity so she can have a stab at the Horizon Award too. It is well-deserved though, she started long before the recent notable boom in folk-pop and is very much a celebrity in these Yorkshire parts alongside Fay Hield and Nancy Kerr (and several others of course) in what could probably be considered the real “Northern Powerhouse”. On her 14th Studio Album (getting over unlucky 13 for some, but not really her) and nearly 25  years in music she brings “Life in a Paper Boat” with a continued humility and charm.

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To begin it has to be mentioned that the album artwork is a pleasure to behold. Dark yet colourful on the outside and adorned with paper cut-outs and folds inside there is a playful element to the work that sits alongside the more serious matter of it’s high quality production and photography. The album itself is bright and on listening is quite sensory, it  feels like a series of images are springing up all around and the artist herself to some extent is revelling in her inner child of curiosity. History, myth and wonder are very much a part of what is happening here and can be felt in the skeleton of this endeavour. It does not fully let itself loose though, several of the tracks are grounded in good folk providence and the disc never feels like it strays far from classical influences. For example, the recognisable figures such as “The Ardent Shepherdess”, “The Mermaid”, and “The Witch of Westmorland”  as more fantastical elements are all very present within this musical tapestry.
Producer Damien O’Kane steps with confidence in his job here as the subjects of the songs vary quite considerably between universal tales of love and more traditional and local content (Pace Egging Song). Much of the album is gentle in nature and aims to persuade by leading the listener through a scented garden rather than shouting down suggestions from a political soapbox.
The album has incredible wide appeal, it is not chic folk or folk music which longs to the gloom and misery it has a strong melody and comes at you with it’s arms wide open. It is accessible but also appeals to history and despite some of the heavier topic within, Kate’s trademark storytelling goes for the heart strings  and manages this with a great deal of success.

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On listening, “Benjamin Bowmaneer” is my favourite opening track of an album this year, no questions asked.  The modern drum and golden percussion coupled with Kate’s sirenesque voice brings a character and life to the tailor in the song who goes to war with a horse made of board. An Autumn feeling track it benefits from the artist having one hand creating a fun, believable legend and having one foot where she treads the battlegrounds of old England in the Hundred Years War. It also showcases the album to come with it’s purposeful choices of creating programmed electric drumming (Josh Clark), electric guitar and accompanying strings throughout which gives it a luscious, rolling quality. When you get on to the disc you get a delightful opportunity to hear an artist deep in her stride with music which is warm-heartedness that is traditional in subject but with a modern and attention provoking musical composition. For example, the use of electric guitar and banjo in “The Mermaid” is slight in form in that despite the expected lyrical love for the sea, the ambience created from the instrument feels more like the sun-bleached backing from some late 90’s dance-pop I’ve experienced. Saying this does not to discredit the tune or it’s folk origins, for me the memories of the sun and carefree love of life  was triggered by the unexpected use of these strings here and it certainly brings images of the coast which is certainly part of the sensory intention of the work. Rusby’s voice is particularly seeking in this track and combined with the more tightly wove backing sound sound it constructs the simplicity of an image of the sea, the waves and the joy all together in one place.

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“The Ardent Shepardess” is quite a complex piece with a rich, leathery string soundscape that deepens all involved. Rusby’s voice is empathic and open, the double bass (Duncan Lyall) is earthy, the banjo (Ron Block) is positively electrifying in execution. The old words combine with Rusby’s tune and it all melds together, fiddles and all in a warming number that spins and impresses. “I’ll be Wise” is likewise a sweet number with continued great strings. The double bass is almost like a heart beat as it plays a counterpoint to Rusby’s defiance of cooler reasoning (of head over heart) within the song, “There I see him, I swore I’d walk on by him, but I cannot resist and stop to eye him.” The other fiddles (Donald Grant and Magnus Johnston), viola (Triona Milne) and cello (Laura Anstee) shine as well. Like “The Mermaid”, it is as an example of the disc with a large number of instruments but with a trimmed output sound, or at least a producer (Damien O’Kane) who has recognised that less is sometimes more (it certainly is here). It is sharp and distinct. The sound of “Life in a Paper Boat” does not wash up and roll muddy on the shore, it feels instead like a fine wooden vessel skirting the briny sea on a fresh September morning.

The song at the heart of the album (of the same name) “Life in a Paper Boat” is affecting and timely; managing to convey the fragility, sadness and desperation in the refugee situation with just a few words. The synth in this track casts a slightly spectral, somber feel which sets a scene for the subject who is praying for a ray of inner hope during his predicament. He has lost his wife and the “ancient land I’ve left behind in ruins”, the track focuses on the positivity and light in the situation for that person. It makes you think, but it is not a song that guilt-trips or attempts to point fingers outwards, it just looks inwards to the refugee’s mindset and seeks to create a connection with the listening audience. Penetrating, on-point and as direct to the issues and feelings as possible, it is a song that soothes like a balm on the burning marked skin of society’s conscience. Stirring and mindful it is what is needed for an individual’s quiet reflection of the issue.

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The last track I will talk about is of course the excellent “Big Brave Bill”. When I described Kate Rusby as invoking the inner child, she certainly does here and takes it to the highest level with this song. The song started out as a bedtime story for her children and grew into Bill, a superhero from Barnsley who likes Yorkshire Tea (I can’t stand the stuff but I’m not originally from Yorkshire, so what do I know). He saves people from many notable places in the area such as Cannon Hall Park and further afield in Mallorca (when there is a bad brew was on it’s way) and is unashamedly Yorkshire while he does it. It must certainly have been a guilty pleasure for Kate to write and sing but it is really good, a lovely bit of fanciful myth-making. The whole track is charming and accomplished and as she says it is “truly” a celebration of Yorkshire identity in a lighthearted, highly spirited way. It’s energy and humour does leave me asking if it ever helped her children sleep at night or if it made them jump up and down on the bed a lot instead!

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Throughout the album Kate Rusby’s voice is a sweet undertaking of the finest kind. Some through recent folk history might compare her tones to the light touch of honey or cream or some other swirling, tasty molasses; I actually see the overall sensory analogy as being rather like lemon meringue. As sacchariferous as some could claim her songs are, the key to Kate Rusby’s attraction is her shifting centre, Lemon meringue is sweet but also a touch sharp and the creator of such a thing decides on the balance of two. The title track itself “Life in a paper boat” is serious, is harsh and very real in that it depicts the refugee experience. Rusby doesn’t hand out a lemon and make the situation sour, there is more to it and I think she has a singular skill for eliciting empathy from the audience. The album’s mixing compliments her voice too, it never overpowers or really comes close to drowning out the voice track. There are never any doubts about where Rusby can be heard and this is a great indicator of talent all-round as Rusby favours clarity over volume, and if this album is anything to go off, there is still quite a lot to hear yet from Yorkshire’s heartlands from this artist. Check this album out, it a a nice addition to this year’s releases.

TRACK LIST

  1. Benjamin Bowmaneer
  2. Hunter Moon
  3. The Ardent Shepherdess
  4. Life In a Paper Boat
  5. Only Desire What you Have
  6. Hundred Hearts
  7. The Mermaid
  8. Pace Egging Song
  9. The Witch of Westmorland
  10. I’ll Be Wise
  11. Night Lament
  12. (BONUS) Big Brave Bill

Life In a Paper Boat was released on 7 October, 2016. She is on tour! Check out the image below and her website here, for more details

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Categories
Album/EP Reviews British Folk Music Traditional

Ange Hardy and Lukas Drinkwater- Findings – Review

A culmination of learning the disc boasts high-class collaborations, vocals like fireweed and a smooth, rewarding experience that builds on earlier work and honours the traditional

Ange Hardy and Lukas Drinkwater – http://www.angehardy.com/

Label: Story Records Limited

Executive Producer: Rob Swann

Released 14th September 2016, Live on BBC Radio 2.

In association and support from the EFDSS.

 

In the field of engineering and business collaboration it is important to get what you are doing right. As Henry Ford said,

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”

If Ange Hardy and Lukas Drinkwater are anything to go by then in virtue of their shared love of bad jokes (so bad they are good) and self-deprecation on their extensive tour (see here), they are indeed making a success from their relatively new “duo” status and discovering a strength in each other’s talents. Part of the fruits of their twosome toiling is a new album simply called “Findings” with Ange Hardy taking the lead vocals, some harp, whistle and strings, and Lukas with vocals, guitar and double bass. Described as  something that couldn’t have been accomplished by the artists alone, “Findings” has attracted some collaborations from other artists too based in the North such as Barnsley Light Kathryn Roberts along for some vocals, and  Sheffield-dwelling celebrity Nancy Kerr who bring a little extra prestige to the mix. The attention and inclusion of these artists regularly attached to the BBC2 Folk Awards does tell of the quick ascent Ange Hardy has made in the last three years and of a growing musical influence she is having in the community at large. The album has featured highly on Amazon and sales are looking healthy but what is the album like itself?

A nice touch is the pervasiveness of how the theme of these connections is explored. It is “finding” in concept, sound and word but also surprisingly in action as a rather special added bonus of the CD. Each disc comes with a unique name and code imprinted on the album case with a game that you and other purchasers can become involved in. Each name is one half of a group or duo who have performed together; finding the person who has the matching name and code gives both individuals the chance to unlock some bonus material next year (my code is King Billy, please help me out). I have not come across such such a social event in a folk music release before, it is an interesting attempt to innovate and bringing an abstract concept and idea to life in a real way. Ange Hardy et al are becoming fully confident and immersed in the business of making music, it is thankful to know that such a thing is reinforced to an optimistic idea that builds on the central concept and adds interest in the work. It is like a more ethical version of viral marketing used in branding and film media except here they are creating new meanings in the work they do. The album case design itself is quite simple, yet clean with Ange’s historically influenced icon of a tree and roots in shining silver on a matte black background, it is clearly going for the pure approach instead of clutter and confusion.

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The album musically expands on this purity of vision as it feels this time like the album is giving something back to history. Ange has done much original work previously and here with “Findings”, much like Confucianism’s honouring of the ancestors, the two writers are performing and writing to satisfy more traditional elements of the folk scene. It is this way that it is most surprising. After listening for a while I was rather amused to see reading the notes that many of the tracks were originally written work and are not from folk history, I could swear there was more traditional material here, but it plumps for influence rather than imitation. It amounts to an album that sounds deeply embedded in folk consciousness but does not come exclusively from history but also modern events which is a testament to the writing and sound that is contained within. It is not the literary-heavy reworking of Ange’s previous Esteesee, but the skills of textual adaptation can be clearly seen running through the album. If it close to any of Ange’s catalogue it is probably in sound nearest to the Lament of the Black Sheep with elements of her other work within but with a slicker sound depth that aims for a wider target audience alongside the rising production.

“True are the mothers” is an epic ode to motherhood that encompasses the aspects of protection “Many are welcome to Shelter all by my cloak”, family “none are forgotten for good is the home”, and provision “all of the little ones call on my care to feed from the fruits of the earth” in the form of trees throughout the song. It has a delicate yet strong arrangement, a spider’s silk of sanctuary spreading outwards. The sacred sense of the song is added to by some magical turns by Nancy Kerr and Kathryn Roberts as added vocals, and it all hangs together with some light harp, whistle, and treading double bass that form a soundscape of bright forest mornings, slender breezes, and venerable medieval folk. Despite previous consternation from myself that this album was unlike her previous, this track is quite stripped back in presentation, and infused with nature’s power much like some of the tracks on her “Bare Foot Folk” album, which is no bad thing at all. Another song on the album that mentions trees, though in a more metaphorical way is the duo’s version of “The Trees They do Grow”, a traditional song in every which way referencing medieval child marriage, and the shortness and brightness of the spark of life in those days. There is a nice contrast between voices here. Ange’s voice is searching, emotive, and expressive whereas Lukas in backing sounds like the voice of inevitability; like if gravel had legs and walked amongst us. It amounts to a searing and honest re-telling of a very famous folk song indeed, it fits right into place here and is a firm favourite.

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Another great track, “By the Tides” is an introspective look at the conscience of the nation as it explores the loss of human life in the Mediterranean Sea by people crossing to seek safety. It does not blast out it’s judgement but worries, wonders and asks. Like many tracks on the disc it is an acoustic marvel which dwells in the open away from an overwhelming or stuffed ensemble of instruments and takes the sharp tool of acoustic guitar, some double bass, vocals and does what it will with these. It is a song raising beacon on in exploration of the issue and has the subdtlety of lighting a candle amongst hope rather than a lighter at the fuel of anger around migration, asylum and fear. True with lyrics such as “will you still be waiting when the ignorance has gone?” it could be being forceful with it’s message but in it’s questioning lyrics and rhymes it seems to be pointing towards a welcoming answer rather than prescribing it too heavily. Beautiful in execution with a warming character it deserves more than a few listens. “Invisible Child” also tackles a societal issue, but one not so highly publicised. Written about young carers and the things they do for family member that are often unseen by greater society it considers the mind of the child and the simple day to day routines done without question in the heart of adult responsibility seen experienced in the life . There is little instrumentation like “By the Tides” and here it is tenderly sad, eliciting some heartfelt sorrow as you hear the voice and the joy the child has at doing these simple, essential things. A smile is raised at the end of the song when the whistle comes into play weaving the child’s imagination, fun and energy almost into a dancing jester, a remarkable remembrance of who they are despite the need to “be” an adult. It is a skilled use of candor as it defines and gently engages around a society-wide issue, and is a great track in it’s right.  Even more disrobed of musical instruments, “The Pleading Sister” is a song that expands on the nursery rhyme “Little Boy Blue”. It is seamless how it is done, on listening one could imagine the story of woe from the perspective of the sister of the noise-making sibling who fatally falls victim to cattle being the actual missing verses. In sound it is simply told through Ange Hardy’s style of minor harmony with herself, and the mixing of voice is quite good. Much like an older family member held in wonder for repairing clothes, the song like the stitching repair with skilled hands is faultless, invisible; the writers’ hands move and the only uncertain thing is where the story starts and where it ends and working with old material such as this takes a very deft hand indeed.

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Also on the album are some more heavily layered tracks drawing on more instrumentation. This serves to not only balance out the construction of the songs within but also showcase the learning that has taken place following Ange Hardy’s earlier albums and the influences she has developed over the years. She describes “The Widow” as her favourite instrumental arrangement on the album and it is hard to see how it couldn’t be. The role of memories and their changing nature both lightens and weighs burdensome amongst Evan Carson’s sparkling percussion, the dream-like accordion (Archie Churchill-Moss) and tragi-myth stylings of the fiddle (Ciaran Algar). An accomplished, mature work that burns the senses like spicy, mock turtle soup it has a classic refinement you find on the best folk tracks on the best albums being played in the best pubs. Another track, “Far Away from Land” also brings together some more instruments, this time in a very lightly nautical sounding song around a heavily nautical topic (the passing of Manfred Fritz Bajorat who moved away from land and his family to live the rest of his life at sea). The song based on the gentleman shows Ange at her most animated on the album, the song is cyclical and sounds much like the isolation and circling feelings of the sailor. It brings all the elements together in a pacier number that is 5 parts a story of legend, 2 parts a sad tale, and 3 parts of going out the way you say you will. The differing voices all come together well here. There is a tinge of madness in the loop, and the delivery seems to see the last days of the sailor as perhaps being more tormented than he might have imagined or wanted them to be. This is the artists’ imagining anyway for it is another mystery of the world for what those last days must have been like. The male backing vocals work particularly well in this song being stepped with the addition of Steve Pledger in backing being the coffee to Drinkwater’s black molasses.

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Clean, professional and rewarding on re-listen, it has taken a while to see the different parts within this “Findings” album.

If her albums were professions this one would as literally described previously, the jeweller attaching a charm on to a loved and old charm bracelet: there are different parts which together jangle and bring memories of different people, times, and places.

Like some of the finest single malts, there are several touches and flavours to be borne from the finish; if I was to pair this album with a whisky it would have to be an Aberfeldy Single Cask balanced in spice and honey for the album is quite distinguished in it’s depth and harmony. The subject material is wider than previous albums, it’s appeal is probably wider too in terms of who will get the most from “Findings” and this can only be a good thing. One cannot fail to be impressed by what is done here and the intentions behind it, it’s concept is not overly laboured in the songs per se but done carefully and thoughtfully in the spirit and sun of the music inside. The execution of the “Findings” Game also show a clever mind at work and a lovely attempt to bring people together in the mood of the work at hand. There is a craft here that leaves a mark in the book of music that will hopefully run across the whole parchment of folk for years to come.

The Findings Album can be found everywhere including on Amazon, and the official website here.

TRACK LIST

1. The Call/Daughter’s of Watchet/ Caturn’s Night

2. The Pleading Sister

3. The Trees They Do Grow High

4. Far Away Land

5. By the Tides

6. My Grandfathers/Bearded Ted of Raddington

7. True are the Mothers

8. The Berkshire Tragedy

9. The Widow

10. Bonny Lighter-Boy

11. Invisible Child

12. Daughter Dear Daughter

13. The Parting Lullaby

 

If you are still not sure check out the video below and head over for their album or tour, you will not be disappointed, here is my post from seeing them at Derby Folk Festival this year.

Categories
Album/EP Reviews Dark Folk Folk Music Nature Folk

Jenny Sturgeon’s “From the Skein” Album Review

A good debut album that effectively conveys Sturgeon’s love of history. A balance exists as wide myth collides with shared Scots history; brilliance flickers in some of the darker tracks which hint at even better things to come.

I have been taking some time to have a listen to Jenny Sturgeon’s debut album, “From the skein”, it is indeed an interesting beast.

Produced by Simon Gall who Jenny worked with on a disc nominated in 2015 for the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Award/Folk Radio Album of the year (Clype’s album “Clype”), the album design recognises Jenny’s voice and creates some interesting space in which she works within. It dabbles in some surprising but not heavy-handed different world influences which like the salt and lime with tequila make something else out of something that could be much more standard fare. Co-arrangers and multi-intrumentalists Davy Cattanach (from Catford), Jonny Hardie (from Old Blind Dogs), Grant Anderson (from Brothers Reid) and special guests Brian McApline (accordian), Aongus Mac Amhlaigh (cello), Fraser Fifield (whistle and sax), Ana Maia MacLellan (gaelic singer), and  Rahul K Ravindran (Indian Carnatic singer) add texture across the album in a great blend of traditions and choices.

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The first thing that both strikes you from it’s looks is the hints at the contents from within the album cover artwork by Jenny (and Will Miles). It is aiming for both a historical and natural feel with the front reference to wild geese in formation with it’s slightly faded wash and appearance of being a “discovered” illustration  from antiquity. It seems to work when viewed through this lens as you can imagine the scene in something like Cadfael where a camera pans from a clergy man to a side manuscript with the eponymous geese being sketched and studied no end. The artwork is lovely and shows the attachment of the artist to her Aberdeen dwellings, the choice of geese is more an implicit connection of the themes in the album. Rather than it feeling like an album about travel, migration or nature, it is more concerned with human history, religion, and political events; nature and the world spins around these here. What of the feel of the album?

Jenny Sturgeon is an artist who brings the sensibilities of traditional tracks which are punctuated with a conglomerate of instrumental artists. The folk music here is liberally sprinkled with myth but not exclusively so. Some tracks are like the roots of myth and take direct story influence (e.g. Maiden Stone) where others are like the shoots and seem more contemporary (e.g. Running Free) and both are quite welcoming and engaging in different ways. Sturgeon’s work tackles some darker elements but chooses not to constrain itself solely to a particular sound. Rightly (or wrongly I suppose based on viewpoint) “From the Skein” is a broader showcase of talent than a set of music which is concerned with furrowing a deep trail of one type, I somewhat prefer the darker stuff and when it gets fairly heavy it is very much like a brewing, nebulous demitasse but it would not have been a wise move to stick to this alone. I then had a think about some of the tracks within.

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“Maiden Stone” at the beginning has a powerful hum which emanates from the central core of the song like a space monolith among a red-dune planet. Of course the track itself is more down to earth as  a direct reference to the Maiden Stone near Inverurie in Scotland. The song is based on  the myth of a wager that the main character makes with a man when she tries to get out of a marriage following an unfortunate discovery, “was then she spied the fork in his tail, she was to be Beezlebub’s bride.” It is one of those stories veenered in history. The urgent and sharp guitars progress the song on and the woodwind wraps across the track like a mysterious shawl, there is a hint of jazz as it blusters with mild chaos and the inevitability draws near. The story sets a relatively grim, but darkly comforting track at the beginning of the album which probably plays on the safer side, but is executed well with a recognisable traditional voice as it navigates lyrical content deep into the witching hour.

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“Raven” is a gutsy shanty which I don’t want to do it a disservice, but it is almost like a folk rap. Probably the best track on the album, Sturgeon’s voice rises and falls not unlike the waves of the sea. The whole arrangement is shiveringly fleshed out with powerful rasping drums and percussion in accompaniment, pickling vinegar strings and the repetition of “the voice of wind through broken stone, “the wind seeps in, the wind seeps in.” It does indeed, and you feel like the track could be your swansong as the ill-natured sea reclaims the land which you cling to. While wordily traditional and briny, the drumming is more 90s pop rock or ballad-like. Stunningly despairing in tone, yet uptempo in pace it surprises and leaves you wanting more. Like a boat, there are points where the track lurches as the drums and cymbals change, you are not sure where it is going but that is part of the excitement.

Sturgeon’s “Selkie” returns to the subject matter of legends and historical superstitions set up early on the album, except taking the broad concept of the “selkie” (a sea seal that sheds it’s skin on land and becomes a beautiful human male or female) and telling a story around this Shetland/Nordic creature of old. Starting as a lo-fi number like a creature alone in the sea it then like a briny Talisker malt opens up; the still waters splash on the shores and it takes a number of world influences and adds a more Eastern sound. Minor harmonies arise, the male singing accompaniment brings a timeless, hidden aspect to the song while Sturgeon herself adopts a clear, distinctive and longing voice through the course of proceedings. The transition of the arrangement is well executed, the track truly speaks, it all plays together well and holds nicely. It becomes an epic world tune in no time before your ears and an engulfing number the expanse of Rahul L Ravindran’s voice and the instruments hint at a horizon and ageless plain of sound. 

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“Harbour Masters” unlike the other tracks mentioned so far is a lighter number but an incredibly sensory one that goes some way to building on a picture of contentment yet active energy at the edge of land and sea. It leaps into your mind as the purposeful bustle of your surroundings combine with a spirit of freedom and fun. The harbour master is a philosophical woman looking out to see the space between imagination and sees the wonder rolling out through the shoreline, “for miles it seems that I can see in the dimming of the night.” An accessible track that appeals like warmer lapping brooks in contrast to the cold wall of history and dark mysticism. As it appears, it brings more balance to the album and shows a mid-set track which reminds that we are away from the everyday and where nature meets people there can be simple pleasures to be had in it’s observation. It pairs quite well with the other evocative night track on the album that focuses on the moment, “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“The Honours” is another historical story. This one is led quite strongly with whistle and fiddle describing the hiding of the Scottish crown jewels by Rev. James Grainger after they were moved from Edinburgh Castle, and then Dunnottar Castle to a church in Kinneff to save them from a fate of anti-establishment destruction by Oliver Cromwell. A traditional, drum heavy number it is a rhythmic reminder of the past that tells a simple yet significant story of Scottish history. Alongside some of the tracks already mentioned it does show quite a good eye for songwriting from historical sources, Sturgeon clearly has a warm spot for the whole part of this land; be it the more popular, widely-held myths from the mainland, the more obscure village yarns or the quiet murmors of apprehensive sailors there are ties to history and theme which moves the work away from an overly emotive piece concerned with feeling alone.

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Overall, a good debut. It intrigues a little, it celebrates Scotland a lot, and it tries hard to immerse you into the world it is painting and for the vast majority it succeeds very well at this. It appeals in part to fans of traditional folk though balances this with more modern timings on certain tracks. The world influence is strong here and a crossover between world and folk, it gets the balance right in my opinion and the braver choices of arrangement and instrumentation pay off well. If you have a space on your folk shelf, I certainly recommend “From the Skein.”

If you wish to purchase the album, the best place to go is Jenny’s bandcamp page, https://jennysturgeon.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-skein where you can hear samples of the tracks before purchasing!

 

Track list

  1. Maiden Stone
  2. Raven
  3. Running Free
  4. Selkie
  5. Nowhere Else I’d Rather Be
  6. Honest Man
  7. Cùlan
  8. Linton
  9. Harbour Masters
  10. Judgement
  11. The Honours
  12. Fair Drawin’ In

If you are still uncertain, check out a clip of “Selkie” from the Isle of May Foghorn Sessions.

 

 

Categories
Album/EP Reviews Folk Music

Gentle Heart – Saskia Griffiths-Moore’s debut album (a review)

An unabashed genre-hopping album that balances light with dark in a spiritually precise manner and a strong leading voice


Some albums are like the snow-topped mountains of Asia, full of ancient mystery which might be a little unusual or less accessible to the everyday tourist but nevertheless has a solid following and interest, especially for those who have walked those paths. They push out finding new cliques of knowledge to bring back and impress; others are closer to home, seeking simpler wonders and the joys of snapping branches in the local woods, building their tents amongst their mates with a focus on the warm feeling rather than a physical and mystifying experience.


At a beginning listen to you Saskia Griffiths-Moore’s debut album “Gentle Heart” you would be fully under the impression that it follows the warmer, straightforward approach to music making, but this is a misreading of the use of the word “gentle” in the album’s title. For the artist’s intentions here we find that the core of what she is trying to convey is both the affable warmth of beginnings but also the trying to understand the simplicity of death; “gentle heart” here fosters both creative and destructive forces in equal measure. Sometimes it seems more light-hearted, but it is quite deep and even in the bouncier numbers there is often a reference to change and the end of a good life. There is a lot that the album does well, especially Saskia’s voice itself in contrast to the arrangements. If we look at the influences of it’s production next, it is no surprise that the album strives for this kind of balanced exploration of feeling that is has and succeeds.




Saskia Griffiths-Moore is a relative newcomer to the music scene but she has made some splashes along the way. She has been named as Bristol’s “number 1 folk artist” through the new artist-friendly ReverbNation (for four months running) and has been on BBC Radio Gloucestershire promoting her music too. The album is produced by Robert N. Neil, a musician whose experiences in publishing alongside Ashley Kozak (who was involved with Brian Epstein and Donovan) and his own albums of instrumental healing (and previous meeting with famous guru, Swami Satchidananda) does bring to the disc the aforementioned yin and yang, and a sense of harmony to the music. The focus is uncluttered which leads to an album which is self-described as “underproduced”, but doesn’t suffer for it and in many occasions transcends the simplicity of the arrangement and message being given (in particular track 3, “Call on Spring”). The rather spiritual ethos of the producer is not overly channelled by Saskia’s vocal talents, but rather through it’s cleanness, clarity and arrangement of tracks to create a piece of music which fits somewhere between genres. There are elements of the acoustic, folk, country, jazz, pop, and singer-songwriter categories and for a debut album is all the better for it as it casts a thread of tenderness throughout it’s tracks that provide easy-listening for the audience but with lyrical interest to be something more. 




The Tracks


1. In Time

2. Are you Listening?

3. Call on Spring

4. Take My Hand

5. Gentle Heart

6. Wash it Away

7. In the Garden

8. Blue Shade

9. The Presence

10. Be Not Afraid to Die


“In Time” (track 1) is an authoritative-accordion number complete with wisdom, a plethora of chord scratching, and a catchy, simple chorus. Saskia’s voice is quite striking in it’s identity, it bears a strong mid-range much like many several artists at least ten years her senior (she’s in her early 20’s), The lyrics are quite nice too, “of all of my friends, some faces I will see again, and some aren’t around anymore.. but that is a natural law”, they make a mark early on. There is a good presence in this track which relies on the theme of an older person coaching younger members of the family about what they have learnt. It is quite primal and feels like it has hardly been distilled from the experiences that have led to it’s conception and has an air of acceptance of what will be. It is wise-sounding, and slightly cheerfully sung though its words are hinting at themes that will appear later in the album (like a kind of trailer for what is to come). It is an accomplished first track on the album, the chorus is simple yet the repetition of the title throughout with Saskia’s different emphases shows a delightfully clear voice no matter what she is doing with it.



Another track to mention is “Call on Spring” (track 3), a song which veers into the very best territories of singer-songwriter lands. It’s slightly baroque, slightly Tori Amos (Boys for Pele era), and slightly pop ballad and stands enormously strong as a great piano lead that is both light and serious. Once again she employs a hook which will probably reel in young and old alike,”call on Spring, call on Spring, sunshine I will bring”. It is penetrating and lethal as a ballad which due to it’s title and feel has more than a slight touch of the Ostara equinox about it with the rising sun burning the frosty dew, and bringing “renewed life”. It is earthy and could be a rework of a song from history if I didn’t know better, Saskia’s voice is inviting, the piano once again strides and is made all the clearer through an uncluttered and clean mix.


“In the Garden” (track 7) brings a dainty jazz backing to the album as a change of scene. It is a song you would imagine on a veranda in the closing parts of the day when the long drinks are being brought out by butlers with immaculate white gloves. There are some playful woodwind interruptions as well and some higher singing notes that hang like stars in a calming and confident diversion from the other genres on the disc. It is slightly dream-like and manages to capture the senses pretty well, and deserves a listen for it’s crossover value. Not being a jazz fan there was a danger that it would be like Stannah Overture 2b, but once again Saskia’s vocals make it more compelling then it could have been otherwise.



“Wash it Away” (track 6) brings back the accordion in a more extended introduction and then keeps it as a central part of the album throughout. The guitar chords and technique sound a bit more Country, as is the subject matter which describes someone in later life reflecting on what has been, the movement of time and the role of history, “wash it all away like the river in it’s path, moving slow or rushing fast”. It is an example of the theme of the album which looks at things delicately, and has a mellow appraisal of things that have happened. It is incredibly hard to dislike and quite moving in it’s simple reflective voice and modest use of minor harmonies that are included within.


“The Presence” (track 9) is a moodier song that looks at loss and serves as a slightly less literal look at death before track 10 arrives (Be Not Afraid to Die). It is introspective and starts incorporating the odd bit of phenomenology into it’s being, describing gazing and “unknowables” and things “gazing back” quite akin to the famous Nietzsche quote that you might have heard (in it’s own way), “out the door I peek into what is not yet know, I set on the edge and feel the Presence”. It is slower, more deliberate, acroamatic and harrowing. Saskia adapts quite well to the downbeat nature of the song and the content, though it would be a much lesser album with songs purely around this theme.





The album is varied, It feels like there is a whole spectrum of dark and light that spreads throughout the disc that touches on a number of musical styles, each which is visited quite well (the ballad style of track 3 being the apex for me). On the whole, I find her brighter songs marginally better than the more solemn ones (though track 9 is a great philosophical de-construction) but there is not much difference in real terms, the songs are all well constructed and a good showcase of her various talents. For a debut it is quite ambitious, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do and provokes a few thoughts along the way. It’s “gentle” nature is a strength, it touches on the vulnerability of people later in life but also respectfully listens to their advice and continues to intrigue throughout. If there is anything to take away from her music, that is that her voice is incredibly clear and delightful and in many ways ahead of it’s years, she is one to watch for the future, but in the meantime check her album out.

If you want to find out more about Saskia Griffiths-Moore, check out her website here (where you can also get free copies of her EPs).

You can buy the album direct here. If you follow details on the page you can purchase the disc for £12 or purchase through other means and sources accordingly.


Saskia;s album launched on 5th February 2016, she is touring through the South West following the launch, go to the website for further information here.

Categories
Album/EP Reviews Folk Music

Rob Lane – Ends and Starts (album review)

Blues rock that warms the senses for Spring and gets the room moving in an optimistic, light-hearted manner


Intro


In taking a mild diversion from things going on in my current home County (Yorkshire), the South West with it’s wonderful mysteries, and the cosmopolitan excitement of emerging folk around London, I have decided to go back to near where I grew up looking for new folk developments on my radar: the West Midlands to be precise. 


Writing reviews began in the North for me so when an interesting opportunity came up to look at the music scene in the Midlands it was something a bit different, but that’s fine most people like a bit of variety. In this case the variety I sought was Robert Lane, a predominantly Blues/Rock/Singer-Songwriter with close ties to Birmingham, and strangely only the second detailed review I have really made about a male singer.

Musician/Album


Robert Lane is a musician who since studying in nearby Wolverhampton has gone onward and outward spreading the message of his blues/folk music around quite far (Germany and Scotland as extreme examples) and alongside his other vocation as an actor has certainly been putting the hours in. He has appeared on several local BBC radio stations such as BBC Radio Nottingham, BBC Radio Shropshire, and BBC Radio WM, he has been warm-up acts for big names such as Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, and Ellie Goulding and has been a mainstay support act for a number of recognisable acts such as O’Hooley and Tidow (love these ladies), Steve Gibbons, and Alice Gold (and many others). Rob has attended a few festivals too and has previously launched a debut album entitled “Robert Lane”. He is currently touring (details here) in preparation for the launch of his work “End and Starts”, a new seven track album on 26th March 2015 by Fish Records (see here), so how is it?

In terms of the content of the album, Robert Lane’s voice feels relaxed and the disc’s character is equally breezy which has wide appeal. This matches the idea of a Spring release, something that feels like a disc which is bringing the cheer back after Winter. There is an easy-going nature that permeates the songs here despite the content being about loneliness, murder and separation- it is all communicated in a way which is easy on the ears. For a potentially introspective and weighty collection of topics, the artist brings the sensibilities of pop and blues rock to keep the music train moving without dwelling for too long so listeners who prefer the cheery side of melodies will be at home with this disc. It is not unusual for an album to be like an extension of an artist’s personality and, if that is the case here then it portrays a singer who recognises obstacles ahead but is an old hand at keeping optimistic and seeing a way through. Listeners who are looking for an uplift and instant impulse to dance will certainly find a lot of appeal in this album, it is not looking to explain or explore life’s ups and downs in detail, it comes across with the primary purpose to entertain (which it does as it shares it’s take on life). How about the songs?



The Songs

Tracks


1. My Love’s in Deep

2. It Feels like 5000 Miles

3. Break My Heart Blues

4. Wilful Independent

5. Teardrop Tattoo

6. Alone Now

7. Mary’s Theme


There are seven tracks on the album, there are four which I will mention in this review.

The first track, “My Love’s in Deep” is a toe-tapping crowd pleaser that gets the disc started. It is upbeat and sways along in an optimistic manner, a bit like the PRS for Music song from the artist “Peace” I keep hearing when I go to the cinema. The difference is that this song has much better lyrical content and has a bit more character. It sets the scene quite nicely, the electric guitar accompanies and it ticks the boxes for audience participation with it’s gently encouraging lyrics, “you took me for dinner.. you wouldn’t let me pay.” It is a soft-rock track sang with enthusiasm that welcomes the album to the listener. Track two, “Break My Heart Blues” is instantly recognisable as a blues track with it’s warm riffs, sharp guitar interludes and a that voice that wraps and pulls the guiding lament through. Rob’s voice is both likable and young, “I’ve gone through hell, and I’m not doing so good.. and you know this time.. I really thought I would” and has the means to satisfy the most ardent fans of acoustic stylings. It serves not as an outright challenge to the music world or making a big claim; the song’s laidback and light touch gives it the feel that it would be played in a set after the crowd’s attention has been grabbed and the artist is seeking to keep the crowd with him, and this it does accomplish.  



“Alone Now”is a bit different. It is a the mix of Blues and 50s rock but there is an on older kind of ballad influence coming in compared to some of the previous tracks bringing some versatility to the singer’s range. Rob’s voice is a little different here, he is almost hearkening to Roy Orbison except with a more minimal, less orchestral backing. For some reason it reminds me of Mud’s “Lonely this Christmas” (title lyric similarities aside) as well or more recently in folk music some tracks and attitude from Marina Florance’s latest album; it must be something to do with the reverb on the vocal track of the radio cut that I heard for the review that gives it a different feel. It is a good indicator that Rob will be good at live performances (thought I admit I have not yet attended). What it shares with the other works mentioned is a sense of the yesteryear and showmanship, and potentially through further lyrical craft, a leading aspect of his musical self.


My favourite track on the album is Teardrop Tattoo. It is a funny old song which amuses and intrigues on a number of levels. I’m not entirely sure if it is meant to be taken as pure comedy especially as it is a song about a murderer but there is something about the song which entertains enormously. Throughout the album you become accustomed to Rob’s voice on the lighter, calmer side of things, then a song about a guy looking for victims comes out of the blue! It intrigues though because as he is reciting his own mantra, “I’m evil.. so evil.. just lock me away” you are not sure he could hurt a fly following his previous songs of love and loss. So far he hasn’t made you feel like he is a cold-blooded killer as the pace and mood of the guitar is quite sanguine, particularly on this track. But then on the other hand, Rob sounds a bit like Ed Norton, an actor who pulls off some of the best “crazy guy” roles without sounding like the grim reaper or looking like a body double for WWE’s The Undertaker, so a dilemma is brought about. I really like the track as it feels like a folk song that might turn over into a Tenacious D song within incredibly short notice. In the midst of a fairly sensible and serious album it can be seen as a glimmer of an emerging talent for characterisations that go outside his own natural voice and presentation. It is the song I will remember the most from Ends and Starts.


In the End…

You can tell Robert loves what he does. The album is consistent in it’s warmth and widespread appeal and has a knack for bringing with it a sunny disposition. It is relaxed, not in the sense of amateur jazz, but in a confident, modern performance from someone who clearly has a passion for the Blues and it’s powerful musical influences. There are no gimmicks on the tracks, they stand as they are so if you are keen on getting in knots with symbolic lyrics and the use of detailed commentaries of life from your music, you will not find that as much here. If you are a person of action who knows what music you like and sees gigs as an opportunity to get up and dance and have a good time, then Rob Lane is for you. The album is full of good cheer, the music is clean, approachable and Rob himself is enviably upbeat with a voice that is crystal clear. So what is there not to like?

Check out the sample videos below, have a listen!

Details of Rob’s current tour are here, his date at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on 26th March is the album launch date.. if you like what you hear then get down there as soon as possible! More details of this here.

For more details about Robert, go to his website at: 

http://robertlanemusic.blogspot.co.uk/

All photos in the above post belong to their respective owners, no claim of ownership is asserted or implied in their inclusion he

Categories
Album/EP Reviews Americana Folk Music Indie Folk

Edd Donovan and the Wandering Moles – Making Mountains (Vol 1)




An artist with old school authenticity and a collection of songs aptly wrapped in the phenomenology of experience drenched in Americana which takes the best aspects of modern music

Album: Making Mountains (Vol 1.)

Label: Paper Label Records

Website: http://www.edddonovan.co.uk/

Release Date: 3rd June 2016

I don’t often venture into Americana I regret to inform. 


There are some of the old tracks that get the mind going and capture a time and place though, so now and then I will pop my head in and see what is happening when Twitter shows me an interesting video or an artist has does something else with the genre to get my attention; and those are the times I wish I listened to a bit more. Edd Donovan goes a long way to prove this notion to myself as he takes indie-folk and Americana and makes it his own. I had not heard of the artist so I was intrigued to find out about him.



Edd Donovan is a singer-songwriter and this is Edd’s second album. His first album “Something to Take the Edge off” did make a splash, at least enough to allow him to tour quite a lot with the band and individually, and to be recognised by the The Guardian newspaper. A distinctive point in which he has been recognised and identified is by a fact that he shares with myself: we are both social workers. This piques my interest as in his day-to-day work I am presuming he sees and hears a lot of interesting things (like I do myself) and this throws down the gauntlet to Edd to see how these things are worked into his album, and whether he has found a clever way to use these unique and often precious observations of people; it is these things after all that will set him and his band apart from other stuff that is out there. “Making Mountains” does actually paint a wide-range of experiences into it’s construction which can be owed to Edd inhabiting the mindspace of people in love, people in search of meaning and people grieving. As a collection of songs there is a feeling of a first-hand account of these details that has helped to layer the album with a kind of spirituality that is rooted in it’s acoustic warmth.


I have heard of artists (and other Eds) who circle the chart scene while it has it’s on-off relationship with acoustic music, and some can make an excellent living from it but I get turned off by some pop-acoustic music that is separated from history, social justice or personal feeling that is anything different to the search for teenage identity. For me this could be the quality of writing or it could just be that I’m getting old and not requiring young men to describe my feelings of angst and love anymore. “Making Mountains” isn’t this kind of disc making this kind of advice. It is youthful, but youthful in a wise way, capturing a young mindset within an older body, perhaps one which is more succinct at describing it’s feelings from the passage of time while not missing it’s initial, budding charm. It’s energetic in a ginger ale drink way, the vocals are light like bubbles crackling and moving through a sharper liquid of emotive constructed lyrics. There are a number of tracks on the album that illustrate this quite well, but the joy in Donovan and band is that when you become comfortable with some of their sounds, they will turn the whole thing on it’s head and graciously surprise.


Tracks


“Dog’s don’t bite” is a spring-stepped start to the album. It has some persistent and solid drumming and a lightly haunting violin which adds a bittersweet companion to Edd’s affective, gliding vocals, “I want to go where the dogs don’t bite”. It builds up nicely and manages to wind a thread of joy and desperation into a track that takes the listener to the late Summer of a relationship. The subject seems to want to be with their significant other while the shadow of rejection creeps over the sun, “I’ve got nothing better to do than wait for you.” Later on, “Who will Show Us” likewise muses on the moment, wondering what is in it and what is just around the corner. It is the most galloping of tracks with a person who is waiting, possibly on the cusp of something great but unsure what this current time is about, “I’m waiting for something to happen.. I spend all my time smiling and laughing.” It is almost existential as the singer searches for meanings in the gestures and the possibilities in free choice, and is a highly melodic addition to the album.


“Talking Jesus” has a fresh, chiming vocal harmony backed by a poetic, soulful set of lyrics that sear in their originality, “my engine’s burning hotter than a heart attack.” It also quite visceral in it’s descriptions of “razor” blades and “cocaine” as it feels like it is describing a hedonism at it’s height like Jordan Belfort transplanted into the Americana of the Wild West. There is a mood of the singer seeking God and meaning within miles of dusty brutality, it is stirringly shocking and evocative. Much of the earlier tracks on the album are cited the most by media, but “Talking Jesus” for myself is the indicator of a tipping point towards the more interesting tracks on the album.



“Pink Belly” is a greatly rebellious track. I have up to this point characterised Edd Donovan as a mostly cheerful character, but with this track’s double bass, skulking guitar and almost prophesying voice we move to a more deconstructing and discontenting song,”the human race is failing and their systems don’t work.” The track has the character and feel of “One Step Beyond” and Madness, it is very two-tone and it’s appearance on the album is revealed suddenly and gleefully like the identity of Scooby Doo’s villain of the week. It is a major surprise on the album which speaks volumes of the artist’s versatility, and a firm favourite with myself.


In Review


Edd’s pellucid singing voice shines throughout bringing a deceptively idiosyncratic album into the mix which rather than sitting in it’s wicker chair of Americana prefers to perch on the edge, comfortable where it is but with it’s focus all around for inspiration. It is a characterful album which is quite distinctive in it’s phenomenological lyrics, song and instrumentation that blend into discrete experiences that reward re-listening. It is for this reason it has taken me a little while since release to begin to think about it’s intricacies and messages and in a good way, I think I’ll be at it a little while longer.


It is a nicely diverse album with some good composition, thoughtful songs, and accomplished musicianship that brings a lot to the table and leaves you sitting there fulfilled but wanting to know what all the ingredients are. 


It is certainly worth a look before Edd Donovan looks to the second volume and brings his lightness of touch and sincerity to a further work.


Check out a sample below:

 

Edd Donovan and the Wandering Moles are currently on their “Making Mountains” tour and has just been at Wychwood Festival. Details of upcoming festival appearances can be seen here, where you can also sign up for their newsletter. 


If you want to get their album, go straight to the bandcamp page here and support them directly.

Categories
Album/EP Reviews British Dark Folk European Folk Music Uncategorised

KARA – Some Other Shore – “a deep thematic album of tragedy and triumph” – review

Released June 2016


KARA return with another excellent album called “Some Other Shore” (their debut was also nautical sounding, “Waters So Deep”). The particularities that make the sound and ideas appealing can be boiled down into the three-part approach taken to their writing and recording of folk music. The first part is that their music is heavily thematic in that the lyrics are often worked and adapted from literature and tragic tales from England, Russia and beyond (in a similar vein to wonderful Emily Portman). The second part is that there is a spirited arrangement that uses instruments such as the dulcimer and melodeon that you might not always expect or hear when picking up some acoustic folk which makes it slightly unusual and dfferent. The heavy theme and instrumentation combine together to explain their third angle; a juxtaposition of dark emotion, fantasy and myth that give them an idiosyncratic but incredibly rich and dream-like sound.


On the album we have Daria Kulesh on lead vocals, Ben Honey (guitar), Phil Underwood (melodeon), and Kate Rouse (dulcimer, vocals). Produced and recorded by Jason Emberton (with some additional support from Phil Underwood and Lauren Deakin Davis) it has guest appearances from Lukas Drinkwater and James Delarre within the album which KARA have been promoting on their tour (there are still a couple of venues left, and more the be announced here). 



How is the album? Daria Kulesh’s voice is as expressive as ever as it pirouettes on a delicate higher register, the songs vary enormously in rhythm, optimism and tradition and the reach of the vision and image is very far indeed. It manages to be haunting, insightful, and fine balance between modern and old. As Daria Kulesh and KARA like themes, let us consider some of the songs next with some loose themes they could sit next to:


The Dancing Numbers


“Lovers’ Task/Black Tea Waltz” is both a reinterpretation and a dance. “Lovers” is a gracious, sensual and capable version of Scarborough Fair as collected by Cecil Sharpe though the band has cast a Russian spell upon it. Like seeing a creature of habit wearing a brand new coat, this telling of one the most well-known popular songs in folk consciousness is trying something different as it lists the slightly different, “setherwood, sale, rosemary, and thyme” as the trademark herbs. It works remarkably. It could be Kulesh’s precise, alpine and lingering lyrics; it could be Kate Rouse’s arrangement or (one of the keystones of KARA) the use of the hammered dulcimer, or it could be the fact that it never hold up. Like a young child dancing in spring it moves and jumps in exhibition without a care. In transition the track moves to the Black Tea Waltz where it becomes like an endless, yawing revolution of joy and light. It is constructed like a book, it opens and unfolds and sings to you throughout and is a great track for it.

Likewise Phil Underwood’s “Hollingbourne/Broadhurst Gardens” is a candidate for a new favourite tune to dance to. The melodeon jigs stirringly and the tracks are imbibed with the both the rural and urban elements of folk music. It seems to speak first of a story of mystery and pursuit (like clue searching in a Parisian hedge maze) before skipping to the amber lights of taverns in town serving a sea of foaming beer. A great original number and a track that should gain a following in the dancing communities.




Tragedy and Triumph


There is as always in KARA’s works a sense of characters and their experiences. Daria’s particular strengths as main vocalist are in her contrasting portrayals of women which are then bravely all added to a single album. Tragic or triumphant she has the range to bring the gloom or fury in equal measure. “Goodbye and Forgive Me” is an example of tragedy as a song of a woman in an unpleasant marriage who seeks the freedom of another man (which does not bode well), “Now this crime it was discovered, swift accusal and arrest, and in exile my false lover, took another to his breast.” The song is based on Nikola Leskov’s 19th Century book, “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk district” that inspired Daria during the recent successful “Company of Players” event celebrating Shakespeare. Interesting and sad in it’s deliberation it is a tremendous contrast to track 9. 

“Stormteller” is the fury to the previous song’s gloom. A pacy, onomatopoeic number it shows Daria Kulesh echoing the rhythm of the weather in song while she gallops through a speedy, relentless race. Throughout there is a sense of the storm and by the end of the track Daria has pretty much gone full shaman on us. Like Nostrodamus’ secret muse the song is as evocative as ever as it starts from a few quiet drops to a full blown melodic tempest as it builds. The guitar strums are not unlike a mariachi band as Daria applies her voice like the Western Mexico sun as she calls down the the elements, “I am of the black skies, I am of the hail, I am of the thunder, I am of the gale, I am a storyteller, it is them I control.” It’s sense of power is not unlike Sandy Denny’s “John the Gun” but more like Ange Hardy’s earthy Goddess tones of Bare Foot Folk’s “Mother Willow Tree”. A good track for nature lovers.



Traditional and Jazzy


KARAs’ folk music that is undeniable, especially as they do a fair share of recording of traditional numbers too. “Seaview” is one of the songs on the album that brings the shoreline of the title into view (and a delightfully fanciful album cover it is too) and speaks of that familiar, welcoming maybe imaginary place we go to. It is a light and chirpy song that flickers with a nostalgia for old times with family as children, the seaside and the briny air. Peaceful and thoughtful it can be considered along with the folk dance numbers as a familiar but good example of a lightly traditional number. In contrast “Devilry Dance”, the penultimate track is going to different seas and cities for it’s inspiration.

A folk album with surprises is a bright thing indeed, and when there is a swing number as part of that surprise, it positively shines. Don’t get me wrong, KARA are not the first band to experiment and include multiple genres on a disc and won’t be the last, but this is a good lyrical showcase amongst many on the others as it describes the ghastly dance in it’s commanding tones, “it has no rhythm in the normal sense, the steps are as long as they are wide.” It has New York cellar bars all over it proving that KARA rebelliously puts its feet in different countries and times and is not content with being the already well established English/Russian lovechild that it is.



Verdict

“Some other shore” is quite ruminating. It will appeal to trad-folk fans that is for certain, but it’s appeal goes beyond the nods of the heads it gives to the Waltzs and the knowing looks to songs about salty sailors and the trades of old. It is a prime example of expert synthesis of literary and emotional experience which is confidently playing with some alternative instrumentation that holds you in a magical gaze. More confident than the debut, and deeply magical to the ear; it is an accomplished work. 


Check it out, it won’t disappoint!


Album Title: Some Other Shore

Producer: Jason Emberton

Recorders and Engineers: Jason Emberton, Phil Underwood, Lauren Deakin Davies

Mastered at: The Green Room


Track 1: Tamara’s Wedding

Track 2: Seaview

Track 3: Lovers’ Tasks/Black Tea Waltz

Track 4: Goodbye and Forgive Me

Track 5: Adrienne

Track 6: Hollingbourne/Broadhurst Gardens

Track 7: Misery and Vodka

Track 8: Carousel Waltz

Track 9: Stormteller

Track 10: Leigh Fishermen

Track 11: Devilry Dance

Track 12: Ataman


The album is available from KARA’s website directly here for £10.