Tag: Bells Of Old England

RICHARD TRETHEWEY releases an EP of Cornish Protest Songs, all but one written by the late Richard Grendall over a long career during which he wrote extensively for Brenda Wootton. The first track, ‘Poor Cousin Jack’, was written over fifty years ago (before Show Of Hands used the title) about the problem of second home ownership in the county. Funny how little has changed in the intervening years.

‘Silver Net’ is one of the songs recorded by Brenda Wootton. It’s a companion piece to ‘Poor Cousin Jack’ lamenting the need for young people to leave Cornwall to live decently and anyone who has lived in a tourist area will recognise the situation. ‘Theft Of The Mackerel Shoals’ was also recorded by Brenda and you can guess the subject. It would be tempting to record these songs with a simple guitar accompaniment as would be heard in a folk club but Trethewey adds rich but subtle backings featuring piano, strings and background vocals, all making the listening easier.

‘Boat For Sale’ logically follows ‘Theft Of The Mackerel Shoals’ – if there’s no fishing why do you need a fishing boat? Finally, Trethewey himself wrote ‘Smoking Chimneys’ which neatly summarises all that has gone before.
https://richardtrethewey.bandcamp.com/

Concise Waffle is the debut EP from Cork singer/songwriter CATHAL FITZ. It is unexpectedly laid-back and quiet, stemming from Cathal’s years of depression and substance abuse. He took to music just two years ago and has already made a big impression. The opening track, ‘Unnecessary’, is a reflection on his journey and the baggage we all carry around with us and sets the basic tone for the whole EP – just voice and acoustic guitar after a snippet of studio chat.

The confessional ‘Rock And A Hard Place’ adds fiddle and mandolin to the mix and despite the subject matter the track is upbeat, portraying triumph over the bad times. ‘It’s No Use’ continues both the self-examination and the musical development with the addition of steel guitar. In fact, from the simplicity of the opening cut Concise Waffle follows a path of increasing complexity. The rather lovely ‘Not Possible’ reflects on the growth from child to man and, finally, ‘Paper Planes’ imagines disposing of problems by folding them up and throwing them away. It’s almost jolly.

Concise Waffle isn’t always an easy listen and you can hear Cathal progressing from “then” to “now”. It’s an important piece of work.
https://www.instagram.com/cathalfitzmusic_

Written in response to the recent furore over Ed Sheehan’s American tour and the forced removal of Macklemore following his comments about Gaza, SIMON SCARDINELLI has released what may well be the best thing he’s ever written and recorded, the stripped back voice and guitar ‘Is That Your Conscience Knocking At The Door’. “Your silence dressed as wisdom/Just lets the evil win …don’t concern yourself – let others take the blame/Just put it down to business/And hang your head in shame” a direct address to not just Sheehan but all who fail to take a stand against the tyranny of power as the song continues “we let them down, we leave them on their own/Who dares to speak is threatened and disowned”, the title refrain biting like acid.
https://songman.org/music

With an almost mediaeval feel, ‘John Clare’s Dream’ is the new single by JOHNNY CAMPBELL. It’s the lead single from his forthcoming album, As The Bracken Dance, which explores the discontinuity between the pre- and post-industrial revolution England.  Clare was known as the peasant poet, the son of a farm labourer whose work was a celebration of the English countryside. This is a lovely, haunting song which bodes well for the album.
https://johnnycampbell.co.uk/

THE APPLE SELLERS are a rising name on the Manchester contemporary folk scene featuring Harp & A Monkey frontman Martin Purdy and visually impaired double bass player Ian Mayer, making their debut with the self-released piano-based slow funereal-waltzing ‘Bells Of Old England’, a recorded live reworking of the traditional folk ‘Hard Times Of Old England’, Their Live At The Stoller Hall album follows in February.
www.theapplesellers.com

A 12-string guitar riff drives ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice’, the new single by RICHARD THOMPSON from his upcoming album, Hippies, Thugs And Heroes. Despite its forceful modern sound it is reminiscent of the songs on some of his early solo albums. In fact, Richard confesses that it takes him back to that period with its desperate search for spiritual meaning and groups, cults if you like, that he rejected.
https://www.richardthompson-music.com/

‘Frenemies’ is the title track from the new album by ELIZA CARTHY AND THE RESTITUTION with Ben Seal. Built on piano and insistent percussion it is rockier than you might expect from Eliza and is inspired by her return home from Edinburgh in the midst of a difficult time in her life. Forcefully sung and rather startling it is clearly an important song from an important album.
https://eliza-carthy.com/

‘There’s An Ocean’ starts in a very low-key fashion with minimal, echoey percussion over an almost inaudible drone that continues to hold the beat. This single is the first collaboration between two Irish artists DAVIE FURY AND ELEANOR SHANLEY – a haunting love song which concentrates very much on the two voices except for a delicate instrumental break.
https://www.daviefurey.com/

STE STETSON sings a very individual version of country music – being from the West Midlands probably has something to do with it – and you have to admit that he looks like a hard-bitten rocker on the cover of his new single ‘X2’. Joking aside, it’s rather good although a line about “driving past the chippie on a Friday night” over a country backing raises a wry smile.
https://www.instagram.com/ssmusicuk/

If you’ve never heard folk-blues sung in Cornish to a string backing you’re in for a treat.  ANNA ANISE does just that on her new single, ‘Kernow Ow Thre’ (Cornwall My Home) from her upcoming bilingual album Aneth.
https://www.annaanise.com/

With winter on the horizon CHRISTINE WEIR releases a single, ‘Red On Cerulean Blue’, a tribute to the ubiquitous robin. The accompaniment blends piano, guitar and flute into a soothing seasonal sound.
https://www.facebook.com/trapshut/

Australianness shines out of every note on ‘Bird Food’, the new single by TOM WOODWARD. It is taken from Satanic Halo, his third album of the year, a stripped-back affair and is, shall we say, delightfully eccentric being set in the town of Woy Woy while discussing the coming of The Rapture.
https://tomwoodward.bandcamp.com/music

‘Never Know You Again’ is a prime slice of Australiana by PIPER BUTCHER. It’s a rich country song prompted by the suicide of a close friend but very different from typical American country, the only common factor being the lead guitar that dominates the arrangement. There is no pedal steel, no fiddle, just a powerful unaffected voice that is destined to be another hit down under and, hopefully, further afield.
https://www.facebook.com/piperbutchermusic/?locale=en_GB

‘River Flows On’ by Canadian singer and musician MARY LIV seems to have wandered over the border from the Appalachians. Mary Liv sings over a minimal banjo and is supported only by quiet background vocals. The song is about life and the changes we experience as we age: “all of my roots have rotted and died, but all you see are the blossoms and the vines” and comes from her forthcoming album, Hope You Like Banjo.
https://linktr.ee/marylivmusic