KIT HAWES & AARON CATLOW – The Fox (Big Badger Records BBRCD006)

The FoxKit Hawes and Aaron Catlow are two-fifths of Bristol band Sheelanagig and The Fox is their first recorded exploration of their music as a guitar/violin duo. Their parent band is well-known for its pan-European influences and they can’t quite escape that – Aaron’s ‘Peddler’s Leg’ is a high-energy instrumental – but they try to stick to their British roots.

The opening track is ‘The Fighter’, written by Kit. It’s set in a fairground boxing booth but the twist is that challenger is female and what’s more she wins her bout. There may be a story there but Kit doesn’t let on and leaves us with the message that “winning don’t come cheap” but it’s worth the pain if it confounds expectations. Next come a pair of traditional songs, ‘John Barleycorn’ and the title track. Both are played fairly straight and I couldn’t help but reflect how out of date ‘The Fox’ is – around here you can’t drive at night without seeing a fox or two out scavenging and there’s no need for them to go to town at all. Both songs are well done but I am a bit disappointed at such safe choices.

‘Crossfire’, also by Kit, is the album’s political song, short and bitter, and that’s followed by ‘Lofoten’, a part traditional, part original instrumental again drawing on the Sheelanagig heritage. ‘Country Blues’ is a departure and, although it’s labelled traditional it feels like an assemblage of verses; certainly some it comes from Dock Boggs and some from Ralph Stanley. The final song, ‘All On A Day’, takes us back to the mythical rural idyll inhabited by the fighter of the first track – here Robin O’Ribbons and Kindling Kate are heading for the woods and definitely up to no good.

The Fox is a nice mixture of simplicity and complexity. There are just two voices and two instruments, no guests and no multi-tracked overdubs. The execution is simple but some of the music, particularly the instrumental tracks are complex enough for anyone.

Dai Jeffries

Artists’ website: http://alanbearmanmusic.co.uk/artists/kit-hawes-aaron-catlow/

‘The Fighter’ live:


We all give our spare time to run folking.com. Our aim has always been to keep folking a free service for our visitors, artists, PR agencies and tour promoters. If you wish help out and donate something (running costs currently funded by Paul Miles), please click the PayPal link below to send us a small one off payment or a monthly contribution.