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Nearer My God To Thee. For all the spooki- ness, there’s an understated (and welcome) hint of knowing humour lurking amongst the abominations, most evidenced in the accom- panying text for I Know His Name (a song concerning “the entity known as Walking Sam“) which drily notes “by all reports, he is not a good fellow…”.
Musically varied and with a strong cen-
tral concept, this is something of an unholy joy. The reportage and field recordings of 1970s Bigfoot sightings that conclude pro- ceedings ramble on a bit, but probably make more sense when listened to in con- junction with Hoskin and Renner’s book, Beyond The Seventh Gate. Fortean folk fun for all the family.
stonebreath.bandcamp.com Steve Hunt
JOSIENNE CLARKE & BEN WALKER Overnight Rough Trade
How do you follow-up a classic album? The answer, clearly, is with difficulty. After the exceedingly wonderful Nothing Can Bring Back The Hour, Clarke and take another bold step in a slightly different direction. There are still intricate arrangements infused with clas- sical undertones; there’s still Josienne’s bleed- ing heart and beautiful stop-the-traffic voice; there’s still the odd nod to the folk tradition; and there are still Ben’s engagingly subtle guitar interludes. But this isn’t the epic cham- ber orchestra experience that previously turned the confessional intimacy of Clarke’s creativity into something almost religious in its emotional impact. Far sparser – and more manageable when they play it on stage – it is a commendable leap of faith and in its way extremely brave, too, in the considerable patience it demands of its audience.
That’s not criticism, just an observa- tion…no dumbing down here on an album themed to mirror the moods and colours reflected in a cycle of time from dusk to dawn. In truth this doesn’t come through as a particularly coherent theme although late night atmospheres of contemplative reverie are here in abundance as Josienne draws you into her dark web of morose philosophising. Empathetic arrangements gently mould themselves around her vulnerable style… among the grave piano and strings, odd sound effects pepper The Light Of His Lamp; Sleep sounds positively hymnal; there are shades of Joao Gilberto on the space-age The Waning Crescent; minstrelly early music prowls through Light Of The Day; a quietly menacing beat hovers behind Dawn Of The Dark as thunderous clouds gather; and yearn- ing strings introduce Sweet The Sorrow, sung by Josienne with such emotional fragility you are scared to draw breath for fear it will push her over the edge.
The subtleties of the production are bril- liant, in fact, as strings, horns, double bass, drums, even electric guitar lurk without ever taking centre stage as they did on Nothing Can Bring Back The Hour. Discreetly, too, they pilfer bits of different musical styles while you’re not looking. There’s a couple of classic Clarke songs here – with shades of Laura Mar- ling, Something Familiar is especially haunt- ing – although it’s hard to escape the conclu- sion the best and most accessible song on the album is actually a cover, Gillian Welch’s Dark Turn Of Mind.
If you’re looking for a fun-fun-fun swinging-on-the-chandeliers type of album, move on fast. But on quiet night alone, grab a bottle, turn off the lights and… wallow.
www.josienneandben.com Colin Irwin
Josienne LUKE WINSLOW-KING
I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always Bloodshot BS244/BS244LP
Luke Winslow-King’s fifth album is another confident tour d’horizon of the many blues styles he’s mastered. It’s a thoroughly enjoy- able, polished affair, showing expert crafts- manship in every department, but a little too decorous to really leap out of the speakers and demand your full attention.
The overall sound is driven along by gen- tle, mid-paced bass and drums, punctuated by short, stinging guitar solos. An organ wash ties everything together beneath, while Winslow-King’s slightly mournful vocals give us the standard persona of the world-weary, unlucky-in-love bluesman.
It would be unfair to dismiss so accom- plished an album as mere dinner party music, but there are times when it veers dangerously close to that category. For all the publicity’s assertion that they’ve been fuelled by the “deep, dark creative well” of Winslow-King’s 2015 divorce, there’s nothing in any of these songs that seems to tie them to one individu- al rather than any other.
On My Way and No More Crying Today bookend the album with a couple of gentle ballads about the search for spiritual renew- al, both of which reminded me strongly of Eric Bibb’s work. The title track takes a more raucous approach, bringing in a darker, crunchier guitar sound and a throatier growl to the vocals. Louisiana Blues is sinister and brooding, with its military drums underpin- ning the song’s promises of violence to come.
The two best tracks for me are the coun-
try-flavoured Heartsick Blues and Act Like You Love Me’s sprightly R&B. The first of these takes a stripped-down approach, using just acoustic guitar, fiddle and vocals to tell its tale of love gone wrong, while the second features some enjoyably snakey electric guitar.
As Act Like You Love Me kicks up the tempo on each chorus, swapping organ for piano and adding a frantic cowbell, there’s a definite sense the band is having fun at last. Perhaps it’s this sudden burst of exuberance which explains Winslow-King’s bizarre deci- sion to invite the empty studio to sing along with him as this track nears its close?
www.lukewinslowking.com Paul Slade HEIDI TALBOT
Here We Go 1, 2, 3 Navigator Records NAVIGATOR101
As one might deduce from the title, three years on from Angels Without Wings, Heidi Talbot’s latest album represents something of a departure. Yes, there’s still that angelic voice to die for. And there are still those beautifully put together arrangements, lov- ingly crafted by partner and producer John McCusker. Yes, there are some of the best musicians going in the band, though it’s quite a different roster from previous albums. But (and it’s a big ‘but’) nearly all of the songs were written or co-written by Talbot herself, venturing into territories new, mainly with reflections on the vicissitudes of life.
Stylistically roaming the dustier and bet- ter corners of acoustic pop earworms, tradi- tional folk music and alt-country, and pre- pared to touch on grief, depression and love without getting maudlin, Here We Go… is a surprisingly happy and heartwarming album, and a tribute to the restorative powers of music. The title song – about death – is uplift- ing rather than funereal; Adam Holme’s relat- ed Time To Rest is just gorgeous (Adam sings backing vocals and Mike McGoldrick’s inter- jection on uillean pipes is inspired); The Year That I Was Born – about childhood poverty – is a wonderful duet with co-writer Louis Abbot; The Wedding Day a classic almost tra- ditional tale of Love Gone Wrong (as June Tabor might say). To round things off there is a reworking of the traditional The Willow Tree, and a respectful cover of Natalie Mer- chant’s Motherland.
Recorded in their new, home-based stu-
dio, there’s a warm, welcoming and unhur- ried feel to the whole album, aided and abet- ted by a host of luminaries including – picking a few names at random – James Mackintosh, Megan Henderson, Su-a Lee and Donald Shaw. Looking both forward and back, and with so much thoughtful music, this CD has been pretty much on permanent repeat. With a decent booklet containing the lyrics and some nice pictures as well, it’s been far too easy to get lost in the music rather than get- ting down to writing anything deep and meaningful about it. Here we go…
www.heiditalbot.com Bob Walton
Photo: Jenna Foxton
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