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| Track list: 1. Green Valley 2. Silver Dagger 3. Studying Economy 4. The Leaves of Life 5. The Well Below the Valley 6. Two Crows 7. The Bonfire Carol 8. A May Carol 9. Down Among the Dead Men 10. The Cuckoo 11. Long Lankin 12. The Midsummer Carol 13. Blow Me Jack Running time: 47 minutes Released: 2006 |
So this is quite a shift, from synth-laden soundtrack to pretty much unaccompanied folk singing. I suspect that I won't have much time for this in practice but I was intrigued with the idea, which is why I own this.
The harmony between the trio is reasonable enough, though I find Jim Causley's voice is a bit of a taste that I am yet to acquire. I must admit that I can't remember what I thought of Mawkin:Causley's The Awkward Recruit, but a quick scan suggests I killed a number of the tunes from it and I suspect his voice contributed to that some.
It isn't that he can't sing - far from it. Rather he has a very distinctive sound and this really works for some songs and not so well for others. I much prefer Silver Dagger to Green Valley here, because the tone and tempo of the song makes better use of his intonation. The harmonies here are much tighter too and it has my hairs stood on end in places. The tune is slower and more suited to the a cappella rendition, unlike what follows which is a much more modern song and much more loosely fitting together and then ends abruptly and without craft.
The Leaves of Life returns to a more resonant harmony, Causley providing a bass that really sets off the voices of his colleagues, Emily Portman and Lauren McCormick. The tune then wanders away from that tightness which is unfortunate. When the trio are in concert the depth and richness of their combination is quite something, when that structure breaks down I find myself really missing some kind of backing music. I am, however, finding this more interesting than I was expecting to and for that I am glad. When they get it right it is electrifying - but that rightness requires the correct song and rhythmic roll. The lack of accompaniment means the cadence of the lyrics makes a huge impact on how the tracks come across. Giving enough space for the voices to truly hold and resonate is important, as is varying enough to keep the ear tracking something.
The first instrument (that I have picked up) is a squeezebox of some kind on Two Crows. It has the odd effect of making it feel out of place, cliched and slightly trite. The song itself doesn't help there, if feels fuddy-duddy somehow. Folk as it was seen a couple of decades back before the revival. I don't much like it - and after missing the backing in earlier tracks, too!
My gut feeling is that this is the kind of album that if you catch it at the right time will truly sing but probably needs to be consumed in some sort of deliberate manner rather than having tunes pop up in a random shuffle. The unaccompanied nature makes this decidedly different from almost anything else I have and that stark change of nature can (not will, but can) completely break a sense of place. Here, knowing what I was coming in to, I have been pleasantly surprised by how approachable most of the disc is. I am only half way through, but this is one of the successes of this project - precisely the kind of thing that I would unthinkingly skip and miss out on had I not manufactured a reason to actually appreciate it, to the point that I find the next point an instrument is introduced also detracts from the experience.
Tonight I fit this in after an unexpected day at home, and prior to a long weekend. Today I had pest controllers in to take care of a wasp nest that I found in my attic. In November - it's been warmer than normal. Not a great couple of days after working long into the evening on phone calls the night before and finding the nest. I find myself not enjoying Down Among the Dead Men - something about how the trio combine here leaves me cold, an effect compounded by really not liking their approach to the chorus - it just does not flow well for me, an effect that rolls over into the following song, though The Cuckoo is at least a bit more melodic. The problem is that it is largely dull with none of the highlight combinations from our trio of singers.
Maybe its me. Maybe my mood has shifted somehow, because Long Lankin is leaving me similarly detached and sceptical. Here, weirdly, I like the use of instrumentation more, less stereotyped, more supportive and better aligned to the song, subservient to the singers but bridging the verses for them in an apt way. My feet have got cold, perhaps that is what has turned my mood. I've tucked them up to warm them in an attempt to improve things for the last couple of tracks. I suffer like this a lot - I have terrible circulation in my feet and winter nights can be uncomfortable getting to sleep.
The move seems to have worked, or more likely the music just got more to my taste or, dare I say it, to the expectation I had built up over the first half of the album. The Midsummer Carol is something I should almost certainly lift and put on whilst playing Albion but I have long since abandoned taking the laptop to sessions in order to provide a soundtrack. Nevermind.
The final track is a throwaway number that half feels familiar - I am sure it shares some crossover with something I have heard in a Bellowhead song, though I can't place it fully at this moment. Its not as bad as my first impression suggested, but it is a weak ending all the same to a disc that had some pretty high points.
The harmony between the trio is reasonable enough, though I find Jim Causley's voice is a bit of a taste that I am yet to acquire. I must admit that I can't remember what I thought of Mawkin:Causley's The Awkward Recruit, but a quick scan suggests I killed a number of the tunes from it and I suspect his voice contributed to that some.
It isn't that he can't sing - far from it. Rather he has a very distinctive sound and this really works for some songs and not so well for others. I much prefer Silver Dagger to Green Valley here, because the tone and tempo of the song makes better use of his intonation. The harmonies here are much tighter too and it has my hairs stood on end in places. The tune is slower and more suited to the a cappella rendition, unlike what follows which is a much more modern song and much more loosely fitting together and then ends abruptly and without craft.
The Leaves of Life returns to a more resonant harmony, Causley providing a bass that really sets off the voices of his colleagues, Emily Portman and Lauren McCormick. The tune then wanders away from that tightness which is unfortunate. When the trio are in concert the depth and richness of their combination is quite something, when that structure breaks down I find myself really missing some kind of backing music. I am, however, finding this more interesting than I was expecting to and for that I am glad. When they get it right it is electrifying - but that rightness requires the correct song and rhythmic roll. The lack of accompaniment means the cadence of the lyrics makes a huge impact on how the tracks come across. Giving enough space for the voices to truly hold and resonate is important, as is varying enough to keep the ear tracking something.
The first instrument (that I have picked up) is a squeezebox of some kind on Two Crows. It has the odd effect of making it feel out of place, cliched and slightly trite. The song itself doesn't help there, if feels fuddy-duddy somehow. Folk as it was seen a couple of decades back before the revival. I don't much like it - and after missing the backing in earlier tracks, too!
My gut feeling is that this is the kind of album that if you catch it at the right time will truly sing but probably needs to be consumed in some sort of deliberate manner rather than having tunes pop up in a random shuffle. The unaccompanied nature makes this decidedly different from almost anything else I have and that stark change of nature can (not will, but can) completely break a sense of place. Here, knowing what I was coming in to, I have been pleasantly surprised by how approachable most of the disc is. I am only half way through, but this is one of the successes of this project - precisely the kind of thing that I would unthinkingly skip and miss out on had I not manufactured a reason to actually appreciate it, to the point that I find the next point an instrument is introduced also detracts from the experience.
Tonight I fit this in after an unexpected day at home, and prior to a long weekend. Today I had pest controllers in to take care of a wasp nest that I found in my attic. In November - it's been warmer than normal. Not a great couple of days after working long into the evening on phone calls the night before and finding the nest. I find myself not enjoying Down Among the Dead Men - something about how the trio combine here leaves me cold, an effect compounded by really not liking their approach to the chorus - it just does not flow well for me, an effect that rolls over into the following song, though The Cuckoo is at least a bit more melodic. The problem is that it is largely dull with none of the highlight combinations from our trio of singers.
Maybe its me. Maybe my mood has shifted somehow, because Long Lankin is leaving me similarly detached and sceptical. Here, weirdly, I like the use of instrumentation more, less stereotyped, more supportive and better aligned to the song, subservient to the singers but bridging the verses for them in an apt way. My feet have got cold, perhaps that is what has turned my mood. I've tucked them up to warm them in an attempt to improve things for the last couple of tracks. I suffer like this a lot - I have terrible circulation in my feet and winter nights can be uncomfortable getting to sleep.
The move seems to have worked, or more likely the music just got more to my taste or, dare I say it, to the expectation I had built up over the first half of the album. The Midsummer Carol is something I should almost certainly lift and put on whilst playing Albion but I have long since abandoned taking the laptop to sessions in order to provide a soundtrack. Nevermind.
The final track is a throwaway number that half feels familiar - I am sure it shares some crossover with something I have heard in a Bellowhead song, though I can't place it fully at this moment. Its not as bad as my first impression suggested, but it is a weak ending all the same to a disc that had some pretty high points.
