Tag: Cheery Odin

Is it an EP? Is it a mini-album? Does it actually matter? We’ll go with the former. So Oddy Locks is a six track EP by Yorkshire trio, LONAN, a mix of original compositions, traditional songs and covers. The band comprises Robin Timmis, Katy Ryder and Evan Rhodri Davies and between them they play guitar, violin, flute, whistle, mandolin and mandola and all three provide lead vocals. Oddy locks are a flight on the Leeds and Liverpool canal if you’re wondering and is the title of the opening instrumental jig.

Next is ‘Sands Of Dover’, actually about a Nepalese waiter who defied tradition by refusing an arranged marriage. Most of the song is fiction but tells of a real situation. Dave Burns’ ‘Maerdy (The Last Pit In The Rhondda)’ is a story that we all remember as Maerdy Colliery stood as the last bastion of the miners’ strike in South Wales. The song also recalls the evictions of 1932 when the villagers resisted the bailiffs and how the same spirit drove them again in 1985. The pit closed in 1990 and the village held a wake in its honour.

‘Rothwell Debtor’s Prison’ is a traditional song from Yorkshire – an unusual subject; ‘The Treadmill Song’ is the only other one that springs to mind. Bits of Gabriel Lenoir’s schottische, ‘Les Beaux Jours’ are interspersed with the song. ‘The Shearing’ is a traditional Scottish ballad, a real old favourite arranged by Katy Ryder. Finally we have Richard Thompson’s ‘Beeswing’, again sung by Katy. Her version lacks the weight of Thompson’s original but nobody sings Thompson like the man himself although I feel that Davies might have been a better choice. This is a vintage recording and it would be nice to hear it five years on.
https://www.lonanfolk.com/

A little found sound introduces ‘Living In A Work Of Art’, the opening track on Woman, the debut EP by JOY JEFFORD, before the plangent accompaniment begins. The EP is promoted as a celebration of middle life and although she has been writing and singing for a while this represents Joy’s first opportunity to embark on a career in music. A lifetime’s experience lends maturity to both her writing and her voice.

The title track is for women who neglect their own needs for family and dependents and all of us know someone to whom that applies. You’ll immediately recognise the inspiration behind ‘Full Circle’, a sequel to Joni Mitchell’s ‘Circle Game’ as observed by a woman in later life. It’s a superb piece of writing.

‘Faith’ suggests letting go and enjoying life while we can and ‘Blessings’ sort of mirrors ‘Full Circle’ as the woman in that song imparts her accumulated wisdom to the next generation. There isn’t a great deal of technical information available but the production hasn’t stinted on piano, strings and percussion to build rich arrangements. As Joy says, “It’s never too late to start releasing your music”
https://joyjefford.com/home

Recorded in St Columba’s Gaelic Church in Glasgow, In St. Columba’s is a six track EP by THE CAMPBELL BOYS who began life as a duo: Adam Campbell (mandolin and guitar) and Haydn Park-Patterson (whistles and keyboards) recently joined by Calum Stewart on guitar and Adam Marshall on border pipes and bodhran.

Four of the tracks are original compositions beginning with the lively ‘Abyssinia Bothy’ led by Haydn’s whistles and followed by Adam’s pipes for ‘Pipe Major James Wark/The Marshall’s Welcome To Alloway’, which sounds traditional until you spot the little flourishes. The first of the two covers is ‘Jock Stewart which gives the guitars a chance to shine in a nice restful performance. The second is ‘Sí Beg Sí Mhór’, given an unexpectedly up-tempo arrangement, quite remarkable, actually.

It’s back to original compositions for ‘ Cyprus Wedding Set’ and ‘Stirling Mountaineer’s Jig’ dominated by Haydn’s whistles. It’s refreshing to hear a Scottish band that contains neither fiddle nor accordion and who sing as well. They should have a bright future.
https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Campbell-Boys-61560039480436/

Continuing with her releasing of a single a month to mark her 45th birthday, Lindsay Strachan aka WAVE OF THE FLOOD marks August with ‘The Lovers Of St Kilda’ which, produced by and featuring Kris Drever with John McDonald on double bass and Cameron Henderson on fiddle, is an atmospheric waltz that evokes the harsh beauty and enduring romance of life on one of Scotland’s most remote islands.

Set against the backdrop of St Kilda’s dramatic cliffs and ever-changing sea, it’s a lyrical portrait of survival, resilience and love telling the story of a young couple eking out a life on the edge of the world as life on the isles changes (“The boats they come, and the boats they go”). The release marks the 95th anniversary of the remaining residents finally leaving the island for good.
www.waveoftheflood.com

‘Old Spirits Calling On The Wind’, the new single by TREVOR HANSBURY, blends Irish poetical tradition, spirituality and country influences in a long, haunting song. There is reverb on the guitars and Trevor’s voice echoing the writing process during a storm on the Atlantic coast of West Clare with the wind howling down the chimney of the old house and the doors and windows rattling. The track is taken from Trevor’s new album, Adjusting To The Seasons.
https://www.facebook.com/p/Trevor-Hansbury-100073098353912/

Yorkshire trio THE OLD CROW ROAD continue their foray into traditional folk with a sparsely accompanied interpretation of  the mournful ‘I Wish The Wars Were All Over’, an anti-war a song from the time of the Wars of Independence collected by Sabine Baring-Gould from Dartmoor miner Sam Fone in 1893 telling the story of those left behind in times of conflict as the narrator, Polly, laments the absence of her lover to the conflict.
www.theoldcrowroad.bandcamp.com/track/i-wish-the-wars-were-all-over

Always a pleasure to review GEORGE BOOMSMA‘s work and here we have his latest fabulous single ‘Pokhara Line’, shortly to be released on September 5th on all the streaming platforms. A taster for his forthcoming album that he has written which inspired him while on travels around Nepal. This track was written whilst on a bus journey from Pokhara to Kathmandu. This journey will be the basis of the new album as yet title unknown. ‘Pokhara’ was written by George halfway through his journey, at the point his companions returned home leaving him solo. This track encompasses his excitement for the journey ahead and to be careful as a solo traveller into the unknown.

His band on this track comprises of Ally McDougal on drums, Will Looms on electric guitar, Bart Debney-Davies on bass, Nick Cowan on organ and Alex Cromarty on percussion.

Exciting news that we can expect the new album in spring of next year. If it is anything like this single, we are in for such a treat! Check out George Boomsma on www.georgeboomsma.com and the usual socials.

His first new music in four years, ALEXANDER WOLFE draws on his own experience of depression, anxiety, and ADHD  with ‘Talk’ a musically deceptively  shimmering keys and guitar number with soaring ballad a la classic Coldplay and Snow Parol that  tackles the silence surrounding masculinity and the mental health crisis facing young men, statistics showing men aged 20–49 in the UK are more likely to die by suicide than any other cause, the song, as per the title, calling on those in crisis to talk to someone.
www.alexanderwolfe.co.uk

‘1969’ is the debut single by Donegal singer/songwriter SEÁN FEENY. Its lyric is drawn from The Irish News on his parents’ wedding day, 11th August 1969. It was a turbulent time: the Apollo 11 crew were recently returned from the moon and were released from quarantine, Woodstock was just a few days away and Ireland was engulfed in the Troubles but the overall tone is one of optimism. It’s a very clever song.
https://seanfeeny.com/

Taken from the expanded deluxe vinyl edition of her album Indian Ocean, FRAZEY FORD covers Van Morrison classic ‘Crazy Love’ (Nettwerk), a steady beat, organ backed soulful version recorded in the very first sessions at Memphis’ Royal Studios as a way for Frazey and her band, all part of Al Green’s legendary Hi Rhythm Section, to find their groove and get a sense of how things might work playing together. Clearly the magic was there from the start.
www.frazeyford.com

A.D.A.M. are Mairearad Green and Mike Vass who have been collaborating on musical projects for many years. Their latest digital single is ‘The Sound Of Sleat’, a reel written in the 1950s by Donald MacKinnon and they have clearly had a great deal of fun playing it. Mairearad’s pipes dominate the melody but much of the excitement is generated by percussion and some odd noises, including synthesiser, from Mike.
https://adamsounds.com/

CHEERY ODIN continues to live up to his name with the ukulele-strummed ‘Yince’ (Once), a true story set in the upstairs front bedroom of the council house at 36 Fraser Avenue, in Hawick’s Burnfoot area where in his teens he lived in 1963. Yince is the somewhat older lass who turned when he was under the weather with a flu-like virus and helped him sweat it out (“She puut is throw ma paces, wi’ her panties in her hand/An’ wiped ma fevered brow wi’ thum, in nae time ah felt grand”). Better than paracetamol it seems.
www.cheeryodin.bandcamp.com

A second single from their forthcoming EP, THE MAGPIES release ‘Painted Pony’ written by Bella Gaffney. All banjo and fiddle, the song was inspired by their Canadian tour and is the sort of upbeat song we’ve come to enjoy from the trio. It’s taken from their forthcoming EP The One Thing That I Know and will be supported by live appearances in October.
https://www.themagpiesmusic.com/

One of the bonus tracks from her upcoming West Texas Heaven Revisited album revisiting the 1996 original, KIMMIE RHODES is joined by Emmylou Harris and Beth Nielsen Chapman on harmonies for the gently aching ‘Send Me The Sun’, a self-described Americana blues written as a prayer during a run of bad luck and seeking for signs of a brighter tomorrow.
www.kimmierhodes.com

‘English Harbour’ is the new single by Montreal quartet THE BARR BROTHERS taken from their upcoming fourth album, Let It Hiss. It’s a beautiful, almost spiritual song about love: a simple tune with a restrained accompaniment topped out with an acoustic guitar solo. Guests are Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Jocie Adams of Arc Iris and the band even manage a nod to Joy Division.
https://thebarrbrothers.com/

If there is such a thing as country-jazz then TOM HOUSTON is its premier exponent. ‘The Tin Can And The Flood’ features keyboard player Phil Alexander and is a sort of late night on rainy streets kind of song. It may surprise you to learn that Tom is Scottish so the rainy streets are more likely to be in Glasgow than New York.
https://www.tomhouston.org/

From his upcoming album, Spirit’s Not Broken, out next January BEN REEL releases a single, ‘I Will’. It’s a powerful, soulful track, more mainstream than folk, admittedly, but it’s unlikely to get much attention outside specialist circles. The theme is hope which is something we all need more of these days.
https://benreel.com/

DUSTY WRIGHT is also in optimistic mood with his new single, ‘Where To Be’. “Don’t take much philosophically”, he sings about the process of getting yourself into a good place and that is probably true. The song benefits from a rich arrangement which also succeeds in being light and pretty.
https://dustywright.com/

Singer/songwriter CUAN works maintaining lighthouses and buoys around the Irish coast so it’s reasonable that his new single is ‘On A Ship’. Acoustic guitar and harmonica paired with thoughtful lyrics puts you in mind of you-know-who although he sounds totally different. The lyrics are downbeat but the tune is, in contrast, really jolly. An accomplished piece of writing.
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