Oxford based four-piece band, Moonrakers, have built a reputation for their lush arrangements, shimmering soundscapes, and intricate instrumental tapestries. If that sounds appealing, I can confirm that their new album, I Am the Mountain, doesn’t disappoint. Apart from their undeniable talent as musicians, they also benefit from good range of instruments. Between them Jon Bennet, Jacquie Johnson, Sarah Fell and Becki Luff play cello, harp, flute, whistle, keyboards, accordion, percussion, and various fretted instruments. With Jon and Sarah as lead singers, they also have a combination of male and female vocals. This points to another strength of this album, variety. I’m sure we have all listened to albums that after a few tracks are starting to sound a bit samey. I doubt that anyone would say that about I Am the Mountain, where constant changes of mood and tempo hold the attention throughout.
Moonrakers are rooted in the folk music – new and old – of these islands, and there is just one exception among the tracks on I Am the Mountain. Around half of the tracks are traditional, with the others written by Jon. All are arranged by the band members.
Part of Mookrakers’ repertoire is their thematic shows and the opener, ‘Sickle Moon,’ is drawn from a show about the folklore and magic of winter. With its long instrumental opening sequence, this a haunting and suitably mystical track. The haunting side comes from the cello, the mystery from the harp, flute, and Jon’s lyrics:
We hide our runes beneath a cloak
And brave the haunted woodland way
And then upspoke the sickle moon
To drive our fears away
The last two lines here seem to hint at an animistic outlook, with all of nature having sentience. We return to this theme later in the album.
Another song written by Jon follows. ‘Hark, Hark!’ opens with a cheerful acapella performance of a traditional rhyme that is at least four hundred years old, and by some accounts much older:
Hark, hark, the dogs do bark
The beggars come to town
Some in rags and some in jags
And one in a velvet gown.
As Jon’s solo vocals take over it becomes clear that the cheeriness of the tune is ironic. This is a song of protest. The inspiration comes from the return of something like a mediaeval plague in 2020, and the lyrics tell of the mean indifference to the poor, and general sense of entitlement among the wealthy elite. Here, the velvet gown becomes a symbol of that entitlement. Jon had the PPE scandal in mind when writing this, but it’s never actually mentioned. I was curious about the word ‘jag’ in the poem, which to me suggests a brand of prestige car! From a bit of searching, it appears to be an alternative to ‘tags,’ as in ‘rags and tags.’
A haunting melody with an unmistakeably Middle Eastern or North African feel follows. ‘East Bound’ was initially written by Jon as a lament to the tragedy currently unfolding in Sudan. Jacqui then added the cello part. It’s a powerful, multi-instrumental piece, with the cello always prominent and providing an Eastern vibe.
A complete change of mood follows with ‘Rake the Moon,’ a humorous song inspired by the Wiltshire legend that gives Moonrakers their name. Jon and Sarah share vocals as they tell of smugglers making fools of the Sherrif’s men by pretending to be trying to rake the moon’s reflection, believing it’s fallen into the pond where the contraband is hidden.
‘Jenny Nettle’s Reel’ is a traditional tune found in Scotland and Northumbria, but with an Irish feel that suggests it might have travelled further. This beautiful harp and cello arrangement by Becki and Jacqui open with Becki’s hauntingly beautiful harp playing, before Jacquie’s cello joins in, initially plucked and later bowed. A delightful track beautifully played.
‘Ronson Avenue’ is a poignant song, taking its name from the road in Stoke where Jon’s grandmother, a nurse, took in child evacuees to be washed and medically checked before going onto their host families. Jon’s tender lyrics and vocals evoke these traumatic times in the young evacuees’ lives:
Close your eyes, and be my little hero
Hold me tight, the monsters now have gone
Be brave, it won’t be long.
This is a lovely song, made more emotionally effecting by the gently lilting tune, helped by Jacqui’s accordion, which gets its biggest outing on the album here.
I expect most people with an interest in traditional folk songs will be familiar with ‘Two Sisters,’ the tale of love, jealousy, murder, and posthumous retribution from a supernatural source. The next track is a fine, atmospheric version with evocative vocals from Sarah. In this version, the instrument that allows the victim to speak from beyond the grave is a harp, and Becky’s harp is appropriately prominent in this impressive arrangement.
The title track follows. This is a protest song that is rousing, but at the same time gentle and almost prayerful. The protest relates to the fact that 92% of English land is privately owned, excluding us from land that was held in common until the various enclosures. Jon’s lyrics return to the animistic elements of the opening track – “I am the river, hear me” – and focus on the commodification of the natural world: “Can you buy the air or the line of the land, Trade with the wind or the sleeping sand?” An emotionally powerful, and truly relevant track.
A pair of traditional Irish tunes follow. The first, ‘O’Carolan’s Draught, originates from the legendry early seventeenth century harper. Turlough O’Carolan. This fine, lilting tune contains magical harp playing from Becky, which evokes the great houses where O’Carolan plied his trade. The tempo picks up for ‘Home Ruler,’ a fast hornpipe dating from the mid nineteenth century.
‘Black Beach’ is another song from a thematic show, this time describing devastation of Northeast communities after the 1984 Miner’s Strike. The title comes from Jon’s experience of seeing miners collecting sea-coal from a beach, secretly for fear of losing their dole. This stands apart from other tracks with its simpler, paired down arrangement, much of it a loan guitar. This gives it the feel of an industrial protest song, which is exactly what it is.
Another change of mood follows, with ‘Fathom the Bowl,’ a traditional drinking song with a jaunty tune and a rousing chorus. Which takes us to the closing track, ‘The Parting Glass.’ Often associated with the Scottish borderlands, but with versions from elsewhere, this song will again be familiar to those with an interest in traditional songs. I know it’s been speculated that the lyrics relate to a border chieftain about to be taken to execution, but Jon’s sleeve notes are correct that there is some ambivalence. That said, the words are so valedictory that I doubt that the narrator is off to a happy retirement. Whichever way it is interpreted, it’s a fine and emotional song, and Jon’s vocals do it justice here. A good end to a very impressive album.
I would describe I Am the Mountain as an essentially gentle album, which is definitely not to say that it’s in any way bland. Important and difficult subjects are addressed, but without ever being preachy. The lyrics hit the spot, and often pack an emotional punch, through poignance and thoughtfulness rather than invective. The choice of tracks and arrangements are imaginative and varied, while staying very much within British and Irish folk music. As much as I enjoy fusion and gender fluidity, it’s great to listen to a really good, straightforward folk album, and I Am the Mountain is just that.
Graham Brown
Artists’ website: https://www.moonrakers.net
There isn’t a video specifically from the new album but this will give you the flavour of Moonrakers:
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