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| Track list: 1. The bird that winds the spring - Lau 2. Caw the yowes - Maz O'Connor 3. Lullaby for Mel - Ross Ainslie 4. Gentlemen Jack - O'Hooley & Tidow 5. Last train - Luke Jackson 6. King of birds - Karine Polwart 7. Billy in the lowground - Blair Dunlop 8. The ballad of Andy Jacobs - Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman 9. Black trade - The Unthanks 10. Wild wood amber - Sam Lee 11. Sea of Okhotsk - Treacherous Orchestra Running time: 57 minutes Released: 2013 |
I recognise very little on this disc. I am surprised to find that I do not have the Unthanks' track elsewhere, even. The only songs I have from this disc - much longer than the first - are Sam Lee's (I have a feeling I found him really hard to get into) and Lau's. I am familiar with some of the other artists - like Karine Polwart, who I have only ever been able to stomach as part of The Burns Unit. I think I have been overly harsh in my reading of her in the past so it will be interesting to pay attention to her effort here.
The disc starts with hand-claps. I do not really know what to make of that; not a lot, I suspect. It surprises me by being a song, not just a tune. Whilst I have this track elsewhere I did not really like that album on first listen so it has gathered dust since to the point I cannot recall the name and do not feel like looking it up. Somewhere near the end of my library though, relatively speaking. I actually rather like this, the clapping I presume meaning a live performance but that is not inherently clear. I might have to look up the other version to decide which to keep. There is a nice air to the tune once the fiddles appear too, all in all a pretty decent track in this form, though the end is a bit feeble.
The next song is an enigma; really well performed and stunning in places, yet simultaneously really dull. It veers from one to the other, changing its style along the way becoming a fiddle/guitar led song after having started out very sparse in instrumentation, then dropping back to song and not much more. I like the middle bit a fair amount, but the bookends are not compelling and I think I lean towards getting rid of it. Not so for the follow-up - a flute/pipe melody of admittedly slightly twee but mostly genuine simplicity and pleasantry. It is far from the most original or immediately outstanding folk tune you'll come across, but it is really solid - slow pace made up for by sheer tunefulness. It loses it towards the end, trading the wind for fiddle then bagpipes which do not quite have the same warmth whilst keeping the melody which still appeals. It is the sort of tune that would not be misplaced with a Cara Dillon (or someone of that ilk) singing over it. Gentleman Jack is repetitive. The patterns at play here are trance-like in their regularity and the problem is that they are not particularly good, so you get sucked into a trance state that you want out of. Its not that it is a bad song per se but it is lacking something to generate more than a nodding "go along".
Luke Jackson sounds like a young Chris Wood; I would not be at all surprised if the latter was a strong and overt influence, particularly on the singing style but also - it appears - on the writing. The song her also seems to be pretty serious in tone. It is a little raw in places, but generally of interest. I might have to look up more of his work - I seem to be in a "what else can I buy" kind of mood this week. Now it is Polwart's turn and - as I expected - she does not engender the same sentiment. There is just something about her voice that does not gel for me and the song itself does not make up for it - too sparse in places, too much in others. It feels like this song goes on for ever, but it is one of the shorter ones on offer here. Prejudice may come into it, but I find the tune lacking spark, lacking genius, lacking a reason to listen. The chorus not even being words really does not help there, I think. Oh well, position confirmed.
The tune that follows it is everybody's bad stereotype of folk music, or so it seems to me... not really being folk and instead relying on twee hooks and faux-comedic lyrics to be as inoffensive as possible whilst engaging no-one and going on far too long. What a waste of data.
I keep seeing Kathryn Robert's name and thinking of Kathryn Williams. One I have a lot of, one I have none of. I might need to address that, if this song is anything to go by. Roberts' singing voice is lovely and Lakeman's piano is a good partner for it. The pairing is making my eyes droop, but in a relaxing, positive kind of way - it does not inspire me to write, but to listen. Yeah, I'm going to have to investigate this pair further. So far this disc may have its share of casualties but it also has some inspiration; the best of the Folk Awards bunch to date. The rip may be bad though, there have been a number of skips in places, alas.
Oh this Unthanks song sounds different... I think I know in retrospect what it is from and why I do not have it, but that might need to be rectified too. Themes can often help bring creativity out or be powerful adjuncts to appreciation and this is a really strong offering right up with the best that I have heard from them, so I have again dug into my pocket. Too many purchases today, but it will not break the bank just yet. Sam Lee's album I think I bought because of a Mercury nod (perhaps?) and, like Lau's, I did not recall getting on with it and that inkling is backed up by this song. I must say that I am looking forward to getting out of these compilations and back into more coherent albums again. Whilst I am generally enjoying this disc the stylistic wandering all over the place, and in particular the tone and structure it brings to these posts - almost demanding writing about each tune or song in turn - is getting a little boring. Only two more of these discs to go now, a third one from 2013 and the single-disc 2014 iteration which will likely be a long one.
This disc ends on the least folksy of tracks; I vaguely remember seeing this performed on the TV coverage of the awards I think. The song starts like an alternate universe Doctor Who or Knight Rider theme, and only after a minute and a half does a fiddle come in to make it clear why it got categorised as folk. The tune it carries is clearly derived from traditional tunes, but the overall sense of the piece is more new age weirdness for most of it. When it really kicks in with an electrified thrum underneath it, it sounds like a knock-off, dumbed down Bellowhead aiming at the mass market crossed with sci-fi videogame music. It does not work for me in the slightest. I could see it being fun when stood in a live audience, but on record, just no - the balance between the elements is all wrong for my tastes. It cycles back to where it started, with far too much of a hint of shlock TV shows about it and it is only now that I realise the obscene length - almost 9 minutes of this poison. Get out!
So a really mixed bag this one. Some great, some awful, and much of both will be leaving.
The disc starts with hand-claps. I do not really know what to make of that; not a lot, I suspect. It surprises me by being a song, not just a tune. Whilst I have this track elsewhere I did not really like that album on first listen so it has gathered dust since to the point I cannot recall the name and do not feel like looking it up. Somewhere near the end of my library though, relatively speaking. I actually rather like this, the clapping I presume meaning a live performance but that is not inherently clear. I might have to look up the other version to decide which to keep. There is a nice air to the tune once the fiddles appear too, all in all a pretty decent track in this form, though the end is a bit feeble.
The next song is an enigma; really well performed and stunning in places, yet simultaneously really dull. It veers from one to the other, changing its style along the way becoming a fiddle/guitar led song after having started out very sparse in instrumentation, then dropping back to song and not much more. I like the middle bit a fair amount, but the bookends are not compelling and I think I lean towards getting rid of it. Not so for the follow-up - a flute/pipe melody of admittedly slightly twee but mostly genuine simplicity and pleasantry. It is far from the most original or immediately outstanding folk tune you'll come across, but it is really solid - slow pace made up for by sheer tunefulness. It loses it towards the end, trading the wind for fiddle then bagpipes which do not quite have the same warmth whilst keeping the melody which still appeals. It is the sort of tune that would not be misplaced with a Cara Dillon (or someone of that ilk) singing over it. Gentleman Jack is repetitive. The patterns at play here are trance-like in their regularity and the problem is that they are not particularly good, so you get sucked into a trance state that you want out of. Its not that it is a bad song per se but it is lacking something to generate more than a nodding "go along".
Luke Jackson sounds like a young Chris Wood; I would not be at all surprised if the latter was a strong and overt influence, particularly on the singing style but also - it appears - on the writing. The song her also seems to be pretty serious in tone. It is a little raw in places, but generally of interest. I might have to look up more of his work - I seem to be in a "what else can I buy" kind of mood this week. Now it is Polwart's turn and - as I expected - she does not engender the same sentiment. There is just something about her voice that does not gel for me and the song itself does not make up for it - too sparse in places, too much in others. It feels like this song goes on for ever, but it is one of the shorter ones on offer here. Prejudice may come into it, but I find the tune lacking spark, lacking genius, lacking a reason to listen. The chorus not even being words really does not help there, I think. Oh well, position confirmed.
The tune that follows it is everybody's bad stereotype of folk music, or so it seems to me... not really being folk and instead relying on twee hooks and faux-comedic lyrics to be as inoffensive as possible whilst engaging no-one and going on far too long. What a waste of data.
I keep seeing Kathryn Robert's name and thinking of Kathryn Williams. One I have a lot of, one I have none of. I might need to address that, if this song is anything to go by. Roberts' singing voice is lovely and Lakeman's piano is a good partner for it. The pairing is making my eyes droop, but in a relaxing, positive kind of way - it does not inspire me to write, but to listen. Yeah, I'm going to have to investigate this pair further. So far this disc may have its share of casualties but it also has some inspiration; the best of the Folk Awards bunch to date. The rip may be bad though, there have been a number of skips in places, alas.
Oh this Unthanks song sounds different... I think I know in retrospect what it is from and why I do not have it, but that might need to be rectified too. Themes can often help bring creativity out or be powerful adjuncts to appreciation and this is a really strong offering right up with the best that I have heard from them, so I have again dug into my pocket. Too many purchases today, but it will not break the bank just yet. Sam Lee's album I think I bought because of a Mercury nod (perhaps?) and, like Lau's, I did not recall getting on with it and that inkling is backed up by this song. I must say that I am looking forward to getting out of these compilations and back into more coherent albums again. Whilst I am generally enjoying this disc the stylistic wandering all over the place, and in particular the tone and structure it brings to these posts - almost demanding writing about each tune or song in turn - is getting a little boring. Only two more of these discs to go now, a third one from 2013 and the single-disc 2014 iteration which will likely be a long one.
This disc ends on the least folksy of tracks; I vaguely remember seeing this performed on the TV coverage of the awards I think. The song starts like an alternate universe Doctor Who or Knight Rider theme, and only after a minute and a half does a fiddle come in to make it clear why it got categorised as folk. The tune it carries is clearly derived from traditional tunes, but the overall sense of the piece is more new age weirdness for most of it. When it really kicks in with an electrified thrum underneath it, it sounds like a knock-off, dumbed down Bellowhead aiming at the mass market crossed with sci-fi videogame music. It does not work for me in the slightest. I could see it being fun when stood in a live audience, but on record, just no - the balance between the elements is all wrong for my tastes. It cycles back to where it started, with far too much of a hint of shlock TV shows about it and it is only now that I realise the obscene length - almost 9 minutes of this poison. Get out!
So a really mixed bag this one. Some great, some awful, and much of both will be leaving.
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