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| Track list: 1. Sweet Honey In The Rock - Kris Drever 2. South Australia - Fishermen's Friends 3. Freefalling - Michael McGoldrick 4. Tramps & Hawkers - Ewan McLennan 5. Mad Family - Fay Hield 6. Mingulay Boat Song - David Gibb & Elly Lucas 7. Potato/Theatre - Andy Cutting 8. The Demon Lover - Andy Irvine 9. Working Town - Megson 10. Because He Was A Bonny Lad - The Unthanks 11. Reul na Maidne - Mairi & Steaphanaidh Chaimbeul 12. Captain Ward - The Demon Barbers 13. Hares On The Mountain - Jonny Kearney & Lucy Farrell Running time: 46 minutes Released: 2011 |
I do not recognise much from this line-up which is either a worrying sign or a good one. I am going to choose to be positive and go with good: everything I like will be a bonus. I recognise a couple of the songs, as done by other artists, and some of the names do crop up elsewhere in my library but still...
It starts with a really drab song which harks to American-flavoured folk. That is not necessarily a bad thing - it often comes with a lot of energy - but in this case the impression is flat and I am happy to hear it come to a close. The male voice rendition of South Australia is nice, though I am not fond of the random whooping and animal noises introduced the harmony achieved by the singing voices is really good. It's a short song, too meaning it doesn't have a chance to lack anything. It is followed by a set of pipe reels which get progressively more modern from tune to tune, through the addition of different musicians. I like the sense of progression this brings but at the same time the central theme carried by the pipes, which unites the different parts, is just a little too repetitive and uninteresting for my liking. The song that follows it also underwhelms. I do not know if my tiredness is making me hard to please (it would not be the first time) but a simple rise-fall melody and minimal arrangement is just not doing it for me.
The next song is another "pass" for me. The harmonics in play set my teeth on edge somehow - the accordion managing to linger on frequencies that I abhor and the singing leaving me cold. So far the hit rate has not been good and I do not really expect that to change too much. Mingulay Boat Song is more palatable but I cannot help but feel that it is not really having its full impact on record and it still suffers from a lack of interest even if it has managed to up the charm factor.
Andy Cutting's name is familiar and these tunes of his have a little more life to them, which I sorely need in my half-asleep state. Guitar and squeezebox make for a good combination and there is something cheery about the roll of the first tune. The second starts as a tighter sound but gradually expands, opening out in a way that makes it my pick of the tunes thus far. That stays the case as The Demon Lover does not live up to its name... it does feature a cloven-hoofed demon but it is not a particularly compelling song either lyrically or musically. The Megson tune is more lively than I was expecting; I have their 2008 album Take Yourself A Wife but if I recall right I found them a little dry and never paid them any further attention. This is a fairly quick number and the vocal pairing is nice, not enough for me to re-explore them, but enough to hold onto. The Unthanks appear again (their 2015 album Mount the Air arrived yesterday, not that I have had a chance to listen yet) with a song I have elsewhere and one that is definitely not my pick of their finest, certainly not when I am feeling sleepy. Oh dear, is this disc a conspiracy to make me nod off? The Gaelic number that follows is so slow and quiet that it utterly fails to leave any impression at all for fear of someone noticing it. I am pretty certain that Captain Ward will wake me up, knowing the song, but The Demon Barbers will have to go some to beat the version I adore from Spiers & Boden.
There is still soft Gaelic singing going on at the minute; I do not understand a word of it, and it is not compelling, cute or tuneful in the same way Julie Fowlis makes it. Glad when it finishes, but yeah... this is a disappointing effort at a piratical tale. The vocalist is not a patch on Jon Boden and the arrangement is dull as dishwater. I was expecting a bit more oomph, verve and energy but instead it is staid and repetitive until it ends really suddenly.
The final effort here is, alas, wishy-washy and boring for it. The song is apparently traditional, but despite giving me echoes of Kathryn Williams at points I find myself not enjoying it. Too little going on. It may be my mood, but this disc has seriously disappointed, and considering this was meant to represent the best folk of 2011 it must have been a poor year for people like me who prefer a bit more life in folk music. If I want downtempo sparse stuff I look first to other genres. Oh well, clear-out time!
It starts with a really drab song which harks to American-flavoured folk. That is not necessarily a bad thing - it often comes with a lot of energy - but in this case the impression is flat and I am happy to hear it come to a close. The male voice rendition of South Australia is nice, though I am not fond of the random whooping and animal noises introduced the harmony achieved by the singing voices is really good. It's a short song, too meaning it doesn't have a chance to lack anything. It is followed by a set of pipe reels which get progressively more modern from tune to tune, through the addition of different musicians. I like the sense of progression this brings but at the same time the central theme carried by the pipes, which unites the different parts, is just a little too repetitive and uninteresting for my liking. The song that follows it also underwhelms. I do not know if my tiredness is making me hard to please (it would not be the first time) but a simple rise-fall melody and minimal arrangement is just not doing it for me.
The next song is another "pass" for me. The harmonics in play set my teeth on edge somehow - the accordion managing to linger on frequencies that I abhor and the singing leaving me cold. So far the hit rate has not been good and I do not really expect that to change too much. Mingulay Boat Song is more palatable but I cannot help but feel that it is not really having its full impact on record and it still suffers from a lack of interest even if it has managed to up the charm factor.
Andy Cutting's name is familiar and these tunes of his have a little more life to them, which I sorely need in my half-asleep state. Guitar and squeezebox make for a good combination and there is something cheery about the roll of the first tune. The second starts as a tighter sound but gradually expands, opening out in a way that makes it my pick of the tunes thus far. That stays the case as The Demon Lover does not live up to its name... it does feature a cloven-hoofed demon but it is not a particularly compelling song either lyrically or musically. The Megson tune is more lively than I was expecting; I have their 2008 album Take Yourself A Wife but if I recall right I found them a little dry and never paid them any further attention. This is a fairly quick number and the vocal pairing is nice, not enough for me to re-explore them, but enough to hold onto. The Unthanks appear again (their 2015 album Mount the Air arrived yesterday, not that I have had a chance to listen yet) with a song I have elsewhere and one that is definitely not my pick of their finest, certainly not when I am feeling sleepy. Oh dear, is this disc a conspiracy to make me nod off? The Gaelic number that follows is so slow and quiet that it utterly fails to leave any impression at all for fear of someone noticing it. I am pretty certain that Captain Ward will wake me up, knowing the song, but The Demon Barbers will have to go some to beat the version I adore from Spiers & Boden.
There is still soft Gaelic singing going on at the minute; I do not understand a word of it, and it is not compelling, cute or tuneful in the same way Julie Fowlis makes it. Glad when it finishes, but yeah... this is a disappointing effort at a piratical tale. The vocalist is not a patch on Jon Boden and the arrangement is dull as dishwater. I was expecting a bit more oomph, verve and energy but instead it is staid and repetitive until it ends really suddenly.
The final effort here is, alas, wishy-washy and boring for it. The song is apparently traditional, but despite giving me echoes of Kathryn Williams at points I find myself not enjoying it. Too little going on. It may be my mood, but this disc has seriously disappointed, and considering this was meant to represent the best folk of 2011 it must have been a poor year for people like me who prefer a bit more life in folk music. If I want downtempo sparse stuff I look first to other genres. Oh well, clear-out time!
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