Nightjar is a fascinating album. Sussex singer-songwriter Liz Overs’ debut solo album is mysterious, haunting, spiritual, poetic, imaginative, and a great listen. I wrote debut solo album, because Liz spent five years as the lead singer of Chalk Horse Music, as Liz Pearson. Many years before that, she was signed by Atlantic Records and had a number 1 club music record in the US. That was followed by disaffection with the industry and ten years without singing. Eventually, at home in Sussex, Liz became involved with the local folk scene. She is now a singer, folklorist, and presents a radio show on the music, folklore, and social history of Sussex. Nightjar reflects all this, as she sings about nature, the seasons, legends, folklore, ghosts, and Fairies.
Liz accompanies herself on autoharp and is joined by a group of talented local musicians. Neill MacColl provides additional lyrics and plays instruments including guitars, psaltery and marxophone (a type of zither). Ben Nicholls plays double bass, banjo, and concertina, with David Tomlins on guitars and mandolin. Sussex artist duo, The Binnie Sisters, add spoken words.
The first single from the album is also the opening track and sets the tone for much of the album. A paean to the natural world, ‘Prayer To The Year’ is folkloric, mystical, and haunting, with Liz’s ethereal vocals complimented by a sparse accompaniment. It’s also beautifully poetic:
Blackthorn the Winter, frost in the Spring
This year the rains came on a gamekeeper’s wing
Scarlet the garland
Prayer to the year
‘Patterns’ is a pleasing track with a gentler feel. Again, the lyrics talk of the beauty around us – ‘Patterns of our life, the beauty of it all’ – but the song’s message is also that these life patterns are often beyond our control.
Now, this might sound a bit geeky, but I have a fascination with the ability of traditional songs to travel far and wide, morphing into local versions as they go. Two such songs follow, both telling of murderous sibling jalousies. First comes ‘The Cruel Sister,’ where the titular character lures her sister to a body of water and pushes her in. Various bodies of water feature in versions of this, including the Thames in ‘The Bows Of London,’ but the most common – and the one used here – is the North Sea. This is followed by ‘Brambles And Briars.’ with its tale of a wealthy father with sons and a daughter. The daughter’s liaison with a low born man leads to the brothers murdering her unfortunate suitor. The father is sometimes a farmer – as in ‘Bruton Town’ – but here he is a rich merchant and the suitor his servant. One thing that is common to them all is that the victim appears to his lover in a dream to reveal his fate. Two sad songs for which Liz’s haunting vocals are a perfect fit. I particularly enjoyed ‘Brambles and Briars,’ where the accompaniment is very sparse and minimal, leaving Liz’s voice to tell the story.
A fascinating track follows. ‘Snow Moon’ opens with an unaccompanied nursery rhyme like chant, ‘Hail moon doth rain, Red moon blow, White moon doth neither in the snow.’ It then pauses briefly, before the main melody begins. The lyrics are drawn from 16th century poet, farmer, and advocate of planting by the moon, Thomas Tusser. After the minimalism of the previous track, the concertina and electric guitar are prominent, underscored by some good bass playing. This strong track manages to be the rockiest on the album as well as, for me, the most medieval sounding.
Another traditional song follows and in contrast to the others here, this is a fun song with a lively tune. ‘Fair Maid Is A Lily-O’ is also known as ‘Gently Johnny My Jingalo,’ in which the narrator puts his hands on various parts of his love’s anatomy. Don’t worry though, there’s nothing too raunchy, thanks to Cecil Sharp who made a few alterations, to suit Edwardian sensibilities. Nightjar is not folk horror, but it does frequently occupy mysterious, haunting territory. It might be appropriate then, that this song featured in ‘Wicker Man.’
On the first listen ‘Alleyways’ sounds like a pleasant, even jaunty piece of folk-pop. Then again, it contains lines from William Hughes Mearns seriously disquieting poem, ‘The Little Man Who Wasn’t There,’ and a closer listen reveals some ghostly undertones. The haunting atmosphere is enhanced when the track concludes with an exert of ‘Greensleeves’ played on what sounds like a musical box.
Another of those widely travelled songs follows. ‘Bad Girl’ is a member of the ‘Unfortunate Rake’ group of songs, in which a young woman or man, often but not always struck down by syphilis, prepares for death. This version has similar lyrics to the Yorkshire song ‘The Girl Who Was Poorly Clad’ and the American ‘The Streets Of Laredo.’ One variation to this song family is that, sadly, versions with a female protagonist can be more judgemental. So, the dying girl here says that ‘I know I’ve done wrong’ while the dying soldier in ‘When I Was on Horseback’ has ‘never done wrong.’
Another mystical and fascinating track follows. ‘Fairy Charm’ is based on a story about summoning a fairy quoted in Sussex County Magazine in 1952. The scene is set with spoken words before the fairy’s coaxing song is sung. There is a simple drone like accompaniment which, along with the spoken sequence adds to the other worldly atmosphere. A short track with a powerful impact.
Two more songs praising the natural world follow. ‘Yellow Horned Poppy’ is a beautifully dreamy song. ‘Honeysuckle On The Vine’ is another fine song, this time with a more mystical feel. The powerful lyrics are a hymn to Mother Earth, with hints of sacred femininity.
Which brings us to the final, and title track. The lyrics are folkloric ‘Lullaby my bird of the night, Bring your message for the day.’ This is a short track with another drone like accompaniment, while haunting spoken voices are heard in the background. ‘Nightjar’ is mysterious, haunting, poetic, and perfectly represents the album that bares its name.
Liz’s song writing is thoughtful and imaginative. Her ethereal and breathy voice is an excellent fit for her subject matter. Nightjar is an album that rewards repeated listening, revealing more each time. A fine debut album.
Graham Brown
Artist’s website: Liz Overs | folk
‘Prayer To The Year’ – official video:
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