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Folk, vocal. Stemmen zonder begeleiding, man, man, wat is dit mooi. Veel mooier wordt het niet. 

Used to writing about instrumental music, this is possibly a first, to address the power of unaccompanied voices alone, with nary a drone or a beat about it.. The Wilderness Yet are all accomplished musicians, with Rosie Hodgson adept on the banjo, Rowan Piggott likewise on the fiddle and upright bass, with Philippe Barnes best known for flute and guitar. None of these feature here, the trio choosing to sing acapella throughout. To be fair, their three part harmony vocals are already an integral part pf their signature sound, so this is not quite the stretch it sounds. This is album number four, with this being our opinion on the last, 2022’s What Holds The World Together.

With the majority of these songs coming from the tradition, or, at least, from the past, see if you can spot the new one, one of their own compositions, slipped seamlessly in. (If you want to play, stop reading now, and listen to it, as spoilers this way lie!) Thus, it is one of Robert Burns’ songs/poems that both opens the album and gives it a name. A lilting melody and their pristine harmonies immediately grab the ear, with Hodgson having a piercingly clear tone, reminiscent of a young Maddy Prior. A pin drop of a song, it is as much about the sound as it is about the words, with little need to follow either one ahead of the other. The Goose And The Common is an 18th c. protest polemic, attached to a new tune. It would be no small praise to consider this an equal to, and similar to, the sort of song Chumbawamba took a similar stance for, in their English Rebel Songs set. Indeed, if you liked that record, I think it fair to say this will also be one for you.

Black Eyed Sailor is another oldie, originally written by John Gay, back in 1720, with the melody having taken a few rides to and fro America, via the Applachians. By now the mood and ambience of their delivery will have sunk in, a rich and rewarding broth of voices, needing the casting aside of any interruptions. With the sleeve notes suggesting the next track to be a slip-jig, paired with a reel, suddenly a concern is raised: are instruments to be harmed, after all? But no, the trio grace these two tunes, Na Ceannabhain Bhana and The Mountain Road, entirely by voice, singing in scat-Irish, or in what I now know are called vocables. The idea sounds impossibly twee, but it isn’t, such is the seriousness with which they imbue the process. All rather lovely, really, with the syncopation in the second tune an extra layer of pleasure.

Cocks Are Crowing brings Barnes more to the fore, he the deeper of the two male voices, a baritone to Piggott’s tenor, or here, possibly even alto. Irish acapella aces, The Voice Squad, clearly an influence on this trio, were the source of this one, The version here, by virtue of Hodgson’s female voice, gives both a contrast and complement to that earlier version. Byker Hill, next, is possibly the best known song here, the tune a slight variant on the one better known. My one criticism might have been to drop the percussive “hups” that appear, contrived so as to carry the song forward. I know audiences love this sort of thing in a live setting, eager to join in on them, so I accept other opinions are allowed.

Look away, if you are still guessing the newbie, for it is Chanticleer, written by Hodgson and Piggott, not that you’d know it. Piggott is highest here in the mix, which is one of the ways that this project avoids overmuch similarity. Vocally, this shows off perhaps the best of their capabilities, as Hodgson stretches notes behind her two male counterparts. Whether you know Mary And The Soldier from Paul Brady and Andy Irvine, or possibly from Lucy Kaplansky, you will know it a glorious tune. Unsurprisingly, that hasn’t changed one bit, if grabbing even more attention than either. Seldom does Brady ever come off second best, but there has to be a first for everything. Dare I request Arthur McBride for their next release?

Finally, another favourite, Adieu, Sweet Lovely Nancy. They cite that this version is “misremembered”, Hodgson having first heard Nancy Kerr’s version. I confess I couldn’t find any fault, it a perfect end to one of the vocal highspots of the year so far.

Should any prospective investor be put off by any cliched image of finger in ear folkies, as well as being on the wrong site, they should cast any such aspersion to the four winds. This is choral music of the first order.

Tracks:
1. Westlin Winds
2. The Goose & The Common
3. Black Eyed Susan
4. Na Ceannabháin Bhána & The Mountain Road
5. Cocks Are Crowing
6. Byker Hill
7. Chanticleer
8. Mary & the Soldier
9. Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy

Staat er compleet op, 10% pars mee gepost. Met zeer veel dank aan de originele poster. Laat af en toe eens weten wat je van het album vindt. Altijd leuk, de mening van anderen. Oh ja, MP3 doe ik niet aan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEN3hd6zLCA