109 f
Glancing at the tracklist, the heart may sink at the prospect of yet another version of John Barleycorn, Derry Gaol, The Snow It Melts The Soonest etc, but Thom’s vitally cre- ative treatments show they’ve still plenty of mileage left. Thom also reprises High Ger- many, a similarly pounding account of which appeared on his Hollow EP, but an insightful take on Poverty Knock and a full-on electric- folk-rock coast through Ratcliffe Highway are standout tracks. Thom’s own edgily percipi- ent originals are also very impressive (I might single out Look To Windward and The City And The Tower), and their slightly ominous ambience sits well with his approach to the traditional material. There’s a kinship with the writing of Chris Wood perhaps, while Thom’s singing voice seems to carry an uncan- ny resonance of Robert Wyatt both in terms of phrasing and tonal range.
Although Thom has brought in a small ‘backing band’ this time round – Ellie Wilson (Stick In The Wheel) on violins and Mike Ran- don on drums and percussion, with a guest appearance by Jack Durtnall on soprano sax on Pathfinding – Thom’s own signature, seri- ously inventive bass playing remains central to both sound and arrangements. Very excit- ing. Hear a track on this issue’s fRoots 72.
thomashworth.bandcamp.com David Kidman KATHRYN TICKELL &
THE DARKENING Hollowbone Resilient RES007
Well now… you’d imagine Kathryn Tickell had done it all in her long, illustrious career as Britain’s foremost Northumbrian piper. There have, after all, been collabo- rations with Sting, Evelyn Glennie, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Penguin Café
Orchestra and the Chieftains, in addition to her many varied proud and imaginative explorations and original creations inspired by the rich tradition and evocative landscapes of Northumberland.
Yet, while still managing to underline her virtuosity as the greatest Northumbrian piper of her time, she pushes the boat out here in hitherto unimaginable ways. Indeed, you might say this is a rock album of sorts. Well, it has drums – and pretty ferocious ones at times, too – as well as plenty of vocals from Kate Young, Amy Thatcher and Tickell her- self. With Thatcher on accordeon, Young on fiddle and Joe Truswell on drums, joined by Kieran Szifris (octave mandolin) and Cormac Byrne (bodhran and percussion), The Darken- ing swiftly put down their marker as a band with something to say… and it’s not ‘we are Ms Tickell’s accompaniment for the evening’.
This is a bold album and perhaps even risky too; that strong rhythm line-up ensures things sometimes get fast and furious, although strange and spooky is usually also just around the corner. But Kathryn has never been one to shirk a challenge and above all she has the class, skill, belief and confidence to make it work. Opening track O-U-T Spells Out is a formidable statement of intent, driv- en along by the Thatcher accordeon while the percussion goes into overdrive with an almost hip hop feel and whispered vocals and synth effects kick in to what must surely be read as a pertinent rebuke to the whole sorry Brexit nonsense.
There’s a certain weirdness about Neme-
sis, too, with a tune and lyric attributed to Mesomedes, a Greek poet who also served as a freedman (former slave) at around the time Hadrian was building the wall referenced in the opening track. Ancient and modern and
weird and wonderful rub shoulders through- out the entire album in constantly unexpect- ed fashion; but Tickell’s dancing pipes are never far from the action to pull it all back when it threatens to get too dark and mysti- cal. At its best, it lifts the heart and sets the pulses racing with rich fervour.
There’s even an unaccompanied song,
Darlington (with harmonies and everything), and a poem by Kathryn’s dad Mike Tickell, Holywell Pool, set to music with the sounds of the river outside Kathryn’s house acting as rhythmic accompaniment. A while ago that would have been dubbed something absurd like ‘weird folk’ or ‘alt folk’.
Whatever you might have expected from
a new Tickell album, this probably isn’t it. It may even turn off some longstanding fans… but it deserves to attract a lot of new ones too. Hear a track on fRoots 72.
kathryntickell.com Colin Irwin
VRï Ty Ein Tadau Erwydd Records ER002
The debut album of Welsh chamber-folk trio VRï sees Patrick Rimes (fiddle, viola, voice), Jordan Price Williams (cello, double bass, harmoni- um, voice) and Aneirin Jones (fiddle, voice) approaching their shared repertoire of traditional Welsh tunes and
songs with the sensibilities of chamber music. Tôn Fechan Meifod shows off the cham-
ber-folk approach to great atmospheric effect. Baroque panache is combined with traditional grist, zest and gusto in Cyw Bach and Breow Kernow, with the cello providing rhythmic, percussive, dramatic excitement. The influence of Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas is clear, and fans of Fraser/Haas will cer- tainly enjoy this album.
There are some cracking vocals here too. The brooding, evocative song Cob Malltraeth is sung by the superbly husky vocal of guest Beth Celyn. I liked the Clychau Aberdyfi suite of songs about church bells, and I’d urge the lads to add onto it the (in my view) best Welsh song about bells – The Bells Of Rhym- ney, by Welsh poet Idris Davies and musician Pete Seeger.
VRï do a fine job of singing the lovely
wistful song Ffoles Llantrisant (some will remember it from Fernhill’s album Whilia). Its poignant lyrics have our lads mystified: if the central character has been jilted, why is he
Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening
listing all his goods? The answer is that this song is a mash-up of two songs that fit the same tune, but the resulting combination has the effect of saying “all these possessions are like dust in my mouth if I have not thee”. Romantic beyond!
Hear a track on this issue’s fRoots 72.
vri.cymru
Paul Matheson MIKEY KENNEY
The Reverie Road Penny Fiddle Records PFR1902CD
In a musical landscape increas- ingly mapped by algorithms rather than instincts, fiddle player, singer, composer and writer Mikey Kenney stands out. A traditional musician unfettered by expectations of geography or genre, and a wanderer of worlds both seen
and invisible, Kenney is an authentic free spirit.
He’s far from rootless, however, as The Old Bank Of Aigburth Waltz, Coleman’s Fire- proof Depository and Up Hardman’s Street – tunes composed for personal landmarks in his home city of Liverpool – attest. There’s typi- cally Scouse wit too, in the title of Soggy Desert – a song about The Lune Estuary in Lancaster.
Stylistically, Kenney’s equally at home on the none-more-English Bacca Pipes jig and the 3/2 Winder’s Hornpipe as he is on Irish tra- ditional tunes like The Golden Castle and The Broken Pledge. The self-composed set of reels The Devil Goat Of Keady, Mr West’s Fiddle and The Repair Job together relate a violin / horned ruminant animal interface in Limavady, enhanced by tenor banjo and bodhran.
The Path I Walk Upon is an intriguing song of the white bear – a recurring animal of Kenney’s dreams. It’s an arrangement that will immediately resonate with admirers of both The Rheingans Sisters and The Incredi- ble String Band. L’Orso Bianco returns in Montagna Di Menta – a bilingual song inspired by and infused with the experience and sensations of Campania, Italy (hear it on this issue’s fRoots 72 compilation).
Mikey Kenney is an artist for whom music is a calling rather than a career choice, and this CD represents the work of a singular and inspiring talent. Follow the bear.
mikeykenney.co.uk Steve Hunt
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