Written but never recorded by Elvis Costello, CHARLIE DORE finally sees ‘Mercury Wings’ take flight on her Still Curious EP, an arrangement that, with her trilling vocals, chugging rhythm and strings conjures thoughts of 40s ballrooms before Ruby Moor’s Dobro guitar and Quentin Collins’s trumpet take it into jazzy New Orleans territory.
It’s accompanied by the self-penned, piano-backed and strings-laced ‘Overdrawn At The Sleep Bank’, a song drawing on her own problems falling asleep and waking up, about not getting enough shuteye, be it through insomnia or just because you’re having too much fun to go to bed (“Lord Sleep came calling/I turned him away from my bed/But he was smiling as he left me/I remember what he said/‘Your wish is my command/You can sleep when you’re dead’”).
The third number, the more uptempo strummed folksy lullabying ‘Slow Reveal’, is a co-write with Michele Stodart who joins her on vocals while Kate St John colours it with Cor Anglais, the title referring to the writers’ technique of creating a narrative arc in which the tension both rises and falls with the lyrics about the often lengthy journey life takes before you see who you are (“You look like your mother now/Not when she was young and fearless/When she was old and wondering/How come? How come?/You’ve still got your father’s eyes?/Friendly but secret/Those laughter lines/make such a good disguise…The sadness in your eyes won’t change/They say the lines are the map of life, but I’m still waiting to find my way out…Maybe find a kinderlight/behind your mirror, have it facing south then you know your mouth in sunlight will look so much better”.
www.charliedore.bandcamp.com
Three accomplished solo singers from London have joined forces as RUMPLED MUSLIN and released their eponymous debut EP. They begin with ‘Horn Fair’, a custom most common in southern England and which had a certain reputation perhaps well represented by this song of attempted seduction. It also sort of gives the trio their name. Although essentially an a cappella trio, Rumpled Muslin employ harmonium for texture as they do for Sydney Carter’s dour ‘The Crow On The Cradle’.
It’s back to linen and an abrupt contrast with ‘Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron’, a song that people know the chorus of but not much more. It’s not actually a comedy song although the title suggests otherwise but Rumpled Muslin add a joke at the end. The harmonium returns with the addition of whistle for ‘Eppie Morrie’, a rather grim tale of attempted marriage followed by attempted rape. You’ll be delighted to know that our heroine emerges intact and unscathed.
The harmonium remains in place for the well-known ‘I Drew My Ship’ and finally we have the beautiful ‘Keep You In Peace’, written by the much missed Sarah Morgan who was inspired by an old Irish blessing. Rumpled Linen may not be a familiar name but you should seek them out if ever you get the chance.
https://www.facebook.com/rumpledmuslin/
JOE WILKES brings new musical perspective to ‘The Old Triangle’, blending his acoustic fingerpicking with fiddle and Indian sarangi to give it a trippy, Eastern feel. The song has become something of a classic in Irish folk music, written by Dick Shannon, not Brendan Behan as is popularly thought, it refers to the triangle that sounded when a prisoner was to be executed in Dublin’s still operational Mountjoy Prison, the site of a 1973 escape by three IRA prisoners in a hijacked helicopter.
www.joewilkesbandcamp.com
In advance of his Christmas EP, CHRIS CLEVERLY releases a single, ‘Lord Of Chaos’. The parent EP, Lords Of All Things, is another inversion of seasonal music traditions and this single is an appeal to the forces of the universe to free us from the rigid thought patterns of the modern world. It’s an up-tempo song built on racing guitar and pounding drums with all of Chris’ songwriting skills to the fore and with just a hint of a traditional melody lurking in there.
www.chriscleverley.com
After twelve years THE DRYSTONES are taking a break and marking the occasion with a digital single, ‘Farewell’, written by Ford Collier and Evan Carson. The opening seems to be overlaid by farmyard noises, which may or may be synthesised, before the tune kicks into gear led by Alex Garden’s fiddle and Ford’s low whistle. Evan provides a solid underpinning that keeps the track moving,
https://www.thedrystones.co.uk/
THE FAR NORTH, aka Runcorn-based folk-country singer-songwriter Lee Wylding, offers a taster for his upcoming Songs For Weathering Storms drums-free album with the heady sway of ‘Mountain Song’ (Red Lantern), a song written in the wake of a painful break up (“you say that you’ll change so I leave your key by the door/Soon after that it all fades to black and I’m not so in love any more”), but building to a lively upbeat Irish jigging violin coda, massed vocals and laughter.
www.thefarnorth.co.uk
WOMEN OF FOLK are a group of four singers: Linda Moylan, Lizzie Hardingham, Louise Hatch and Rebecca Mileham. Their debut single is a haunting rendition of ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ featuring acoustic guitar and fiddle and performed by four distinctive voices. As a bonus they sing all the verses which is a rarity these days.
https://www.facebook.com/people/Women-Of-Folk/61579383263155/
Taking time out from The Jigantics, MARTIN FITZGIBBON has released solo download single ‘Everybody’s Hero’, a reflective strummed and quietly sung about dementia that has a deeply personal and poignant connection as he sings about a friend and fellow musician (“Can you remember do you recall/Our first gig at the Coronation Hall/How they stood and cheered you at the end”), heartbreaking in its refrain “You were everybody’s hero/The one we all aspired to be/Now I look into those empty eyes I wonder what you see, and do you remember me?”. All proceeds go to Alzheimer’s Society UK.
www.martinfitzgibbon.bandcamp.com/track/everybodys-hero
Following his excellent single ‘1969’, SEÁN FEENY returns with another delve into his family history. ‘Western Roads’ is inspired by his great-grandfather who emigrated to Montana in search of a better life. The sound is big, highlighted by echoey electric guitar that would suit the soundtrack of a spaghetti western. Things didn’t work out too well and Seán’s great-grandpappy returned to Ireland which is presumably why Seán is here to tell us about him.
https://seanfeeny.com/
The words by Richard Pierce, MARINA FLORANCE is in bluesy fingerpicked protest mode with the self-released ‘Courage’ as she takes to task the apathy of the silent majority (“never in a rush to say anything/too shy to stand up and shout/we know shouting never/saved the world”) the chorus asking “do we have the courage to speak out/against the human rights deniers/against the anti-immigration thugs/against the violent mobs/since when is love a sentence of death/tolerance a curse/since when is good an evil,/and evil a medal’s worth?”.
www.marinaflorance.com
‘Promise Men’ is the dynamic new single by Cornish duo TRUE FOXES, a song about not bowing down to convention and standing up for yourself even if it makes you unpopular with others. Their powerful Americana sound is to the fore with galloping guitar, fiddle and the sort of echo that Dylan employed to such great effect forty-odd years ago.
https://truefoxesmusic.co.uk/
Heralding an EP of the same name, ‘The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right’ is the lead single by LISA O’NEILL. As a statement about the political situation in the country it works by pairing personal lyrics with a big doomy arrangement and a brilliant title. We’re looking forward to the EP.
https://lisaoneill.ie/home/
If you need some cheering up you can always count on LE VENT DU NORD. Their new single, ‘Par-Dessus Le Point ‘, is taken from their new album, Voisinages, and rattles along atop Quebecois foot percussion and fiddle. This new single is based on an 18th century song with a very complicated story described by the band as one of the oldest neighbours’ disputes in the archives.
https://leventdunord.com/en/
This, as they say, just in. DAREN REECE LAMBERTON is an experienced writer just dipping his toe into the turbulent waters of the music business as a soloist. His single, ‘Yesterday’s Cake’, is a taster for a new album. The song is literate with a catchy tune and a varied and rich arrangement. In real life he’s a drummer and clearly refutes all the percussionist jokes.
https://www.facebook.com/p/Daren-Reece-Lamberton-100009293874710/
‘I Should Have Asked Your Name’ is the new single by IVAN MOULT which starts off as a gentle jazzy shuffle but expands into a big arrangement after some tasty guitar. The “B-side” is ‘Did You Think That I Was Lost?’, a song in a similarly melancholy mood.
https://ivanmoult.com/
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