This review is written by Dai Woosnam, daigress@hotmail.com, 6/05
Let me start with an admission: I have never seen this band in
live performance. And in one way that puts me at a distinct
disadvantage: for it is clear that they whip up a real storm that is
the equal of anything on the folk scene.
Folk scene? Yes, "folk" is what they emphatically are. (No, not because
the choice of instruments decrees that they are: just as "four walls do
not a prison make", similarly, accordion, guitar, and fiddle do not of
themselves constitute a folk band. Nor are they "folk" simply because
for a while now they have been widely dubbed "Britain’s leading
underground folk band".)
No, they show their roots in the folk scene in just about every musical
phrase: Mark Knight’s fiddle brings to mind the early driving, swooping
pyrotechnics of another Knight Steeleye’s Peter - and Simon
Edwards’s outstandingly energetic squeezebox playing is redolent of the
brio of a Flaco Jiminez. But one brought up on Bob Cann and fish and
chips rather than Tex-Mex and tortillas.
However, in another way, not having seen them is a distinct plus point:
I can thus treat this "live" with studio improvements - CD on its
own merits. And the merits are not inconsiderable. Although a manic
drummer presumably Keith Moon reincarnated does his best to
steal the limelight, melodically, the album is interesting. Some mildly
infectious stuff. By the third listening I was scat singing along with
the band. "Take Me Home" and "Whispered Light" were the standout cuts,
and both benefit from repeated listening. Simon Edwards’s vocals were
genuinely impressive in a highly unpolished sort of way; his voice is
so rough he makes Rod Stewart’s voice seem like it comes complete with
built-in Dolby System, and Edwards’ diction is generally clear.
Which leaves me with a bit of a puzzle. We are provided with all the
song lyrics. There are two purposes of a lyric sheet. One is so as the
listener can understand what is being sung. The other, stems from a
feeling that the lyrics deserve being regarded for their intrinsic
merit. As the clarity of diction means the former does not apply,
I am forced to conclude that these chaps and chapesse, in believing in
their lyrics, must be as high as a kite on something. For alas my
friends, the lyrics are stupendously witless. But that said, this is a
band who clearly know their way round their instruments, and for that
reason alone, are well worth a listen.
Dai Woosnam
Grimsby, England.
daigress@hotmail.com
Copyright © 1998-2008 Kevin & Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews. All rights reserved.
Ownership, copyright and title of this UK folk music CD review belongs to Dai Woosnam. Ownership, copyright and title are not transferable or assignable to you or other parties regardless of how or if you or other parties use, copy, save, backup, store, retrieve, transmit, display, publish, modify or share the CD review in whole or in part. Please read the "Terms, Conditions and Disclaimer" section on my web site for additional information about using, quoting, or reprinting this CD review.
Return to Kevin and Maxine’s Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews home page.
To return to the last web page you visited, click the "Back" button that appears immediately below: