Tag: Give Peace This Year

The Ballad Of Harold Camping, their new EP, gives TANGLEJACK the opportunity to let their hair down with some rather more lighthearted songs. The opener, ‘Needs Must When The Devil Drives’, is pure Traveling Wilburys so there’s a lot of Tom Petty about the vocal style. ‘Cat Man Do’ decorated with Duncan Leigh’s slide guitar is a country blues about a couple’s troubled relationship…with their cat

The title track is a swipe at the US Christian broadcaster famous for his apocalyptic predictions, none of which came to pass. It’s sung in a faux-gospel style just to add to the fun. Finally, ‘Bad Weather Baby’ is about John-Paul Davies’ search for a woman who isn’t just a “fair-weather friend”. All jolly japes for the festive season.
http://tanglejack.co.uk

Accompanied by a select group of Scottish musicians, Aberdeen-based singer-songwriter COLIN MacDUFF releases an EP, The Names. The opening track, ‘George And Stanley’, uses the memory of one of those panoramic school photographs to reflect on abuse at an unnamed public school. Quite topical really. ‘Martin’ also recalls school days – Martin seemingly being someone who doesn’t quite fit in. It’s a slightly uncomfortable listen.

The title track is very different – an appreciation of Indian restaurants with an appropriate arrangement featuring Alec Cooper’s sitar given a slightly non-traditional sound which grabs the attention. On a cold winter’s night the names in question are those of restaurants and a selection of dishes.
https://colinmacduff.bandcamp.com/album/the-names-ep

On the back of a couple of singles, Bostonian singer-songwriter EAMON GREENE releases his debut EP. Empty House. The opener, ‘Foolish Livin”, begins with big drums but doesn’t follow up in the same vein. It’s laid back with jazzy guitar breaks and sets up a fine groove for the rest of the set. ‘California’s Arms’ follows a more conventional structure beginning with acoustic guitar and building in a rockier vein culminating in a sax break.

‘Let’s Pretend You’re Still Mine’ is a languid song of regret which again builds up over those big drums and there is a delicious irony in ‘Song For Me’ as Eamon turns his back on writing a song for “you”, whoever she may be. ‘Whiskey Waltzin” begins in a rowdy bar-room, settles down a bit and finally goes all oom-pah at the end. Empty House is an accomplished and entertaining record which suggests that we may hear much more of Eamon in the future.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578420973069&locale=sk_SK

A departure from her familiar Americana sound, AMY SPEACE turns to the 40s jazzy sounds of Nat King Cole and Johnny Mathis for the crooningly romantic ‘I Want An Old Fashioned Christmas’ as she calls for a return to the simpler good old  times of our childhood  with all the “old cliches” rather than “shine and bling”. As warm as those roasting chestnuts.
www.amyspeace.com

ALUN PARRY works very hard at his publicity so how could we not feature his Christmas single, ‘No One To Hold’? Its sound isn’t particularly Christmassy: pounding piano and brass makes it a bit sleazy as the singer complains that he’s alone in the cold – his complaint also providing something of a parallel with the reason for the festivities. It’s a familiar theme but its style makes it a change from the usual seasonal schmaltz.
https://parrysongs.co.uk/

Inspired by her parents who ran a non-profit organisation dedicated to world peace for her seasonal single, NICOLE MISH offers the lilting piano-backed ‘Give Peace This Year’ (self-released) as she sings “Some tell us difference makes us weak instead of strong/Afraid they’ll lose their power if we turn to love/But love’s more powerful than all these hateful walls/We’ve trapped ourselves with them, but we can tear them down”.
https://nicolemish.com

LUNATRAKTORS bring their own brand of seasonal darkness with their new single, ‘Yarrow’. Carli and Clair provide relatively conventional vocal lines for the old song, relying on their unconventional combination of instruments: low whistle, bassoon and gong all dominated by the pounding of a goatskin drum while the sound of a storm tops and tails the track. There’s nothing like a good murder ballad to get you into the Christmas spirit.
https://www.lunatraktors.space/

A swift follow up to his Christmas in the trenches-themed Armistice Day single ‘The Bells Of Brierly Hill’, DAN WHITEHOUSE turns to a seasonal evergreen for a cover of David Essex’s classic bauble ‘A Winter’s Tale’, a simple piano arrangement by Gustaf Ljunggren that allows his voice to bring out all the regret in the lyrics. The world should take notice.  Apparently he can’t actually sell his version of a Winter’s Tale so only a listen.
www.danwhitehouse.bandcamp.com

MERV & CO (Mervyn Brunt) confesses that the folk-rock ‘Unsung Heroes’ is a novelty song – as if it wasn’t obvious. The story tells how Rudolph came to have a red nose (just one year) while the rest of Santa’s reindeer team are forgotten. The whole thing is a bit meta as Merv writes about himself writing the song.
https://mervco.bandcamp.com/album/unsung-heroes-2

Not at all Christmassy, ADAM WEIKERT rivals Lunatraktors for gothic darkness with his version of Ed Pickford’s ‘Ah Cud Hew’. It is backed with ‘Black Pillow’, an even darker song dealing with assisted suicide. The lead track comes from Adam’s new album, To Whom Ourselves We Owe.
https://www.facebook.com/Adam.Weikert.Music/

From her new recent album, Eadarainn a’ Chruit ; Between Us The Harp, KAREN MARSHALSAY releases the opening track as a digital single. ‘Yule Log Polka’ is a stately measure well suited to Highland drawing rooms in bygone days and Karen pairs it with another of her own compositions, ‘Planxty Luchóg Beag’, which is about a mouse.
https://www.karenmarshalsay.com/

RIVER EAST RIVER WEST don’t actually exist. They are the AI invention of Liverpool songwriter, John Jenkins and ‘Too Many Whiskeys Under The Bridge’ (the apostrophe seems to be optional) is their/his latest single. It’s actually a very good slice of banjo driven country narrative but it does beg the question – should we approve of this sort of thing? Which is what traditional folkies said about Steeleye Span etc. Discuss.
https://www.johnjenkinsmusic.com/

There is quite a backstory behind ‘The Stranger’s Grave’, the new single by MIRIAM INGRAM. The song is a setting of a poem by 19^th century Irish author, Emily Lawless, concerning an unnamed drowned sailor interred in a cemetery for unbaptised children. It’s not a cheery subject but it does make for a haunting song.
https://bringyourownhammerpresents.bandcamp.com/track/the-strangers-grave

From their album, The Tree In The Wood, CHARLOTTE SMITH & DAVID CLIFTON release a digital single, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Lovely’, made just for curling up by the fire this Christmas. Forget the familiar gor-blimey cockernee musical version, Charlotte and David present a languid, laid-back take on the song with a suitably wrap-around arrangement.
https://littleroom.com/release/the-tree-in-the-wood-2/

Returning to the ideas that Christmas should engender in all of us ERIC BIBB releases a single ‘If You’re Free’ from his upcoming album, One Mississippi. The universal message is that people all over the world are cold, hungry, thirsty and living in fear and if you’re not one of them you really should be grateful. From a transatlantic perspective it almost sounds as though Eric is directing his message at the USA.
https://www.ericbibb.com/