Propergander 8.psd

FOLK reviews
Chumbawamba
The Boy Bands Have Won
No Masters NMCD28 AL
Oh but they haven’t. Chumbawamba set
out to disprove the title of their latest
album. The theme is cultural recycling –
taking things from the past (in this case,
folk music) and fashioning it into
something new. Respecting where things
have come from but not being
constrained by the traditions. Musically it
ranges from sparse to lush – some songs
are performed acappella, or have only a
couple of acoustic guitars, while others
have full-on strings and French horns
painting an epic soundscape.
The wit and passion are still much in
evidence – the radio-friendly Add Me is a
gentle dig at the creeps who clutter up
cyberspace, guaranteed to raise a smile of
recognition in anyone who has dipped a
toe into the world of social networking,
while Waiting For The Bus is a poignant
song about Gary Tyler, wrongly convicted
of murder in 1975, and still behind bars.
And let’s face it, only Chumbawamba
would write a song called Lord Bateman’s
Motorbike with the eponymous hero
recast as the landlord of ‘a pub out on the
A65, the sort of place where everybody
drinks before they drive’.
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“Quiet insurgency with a broad smile on its
face” fRoots
3 Daft Monkeys
First rate monkey business and a little social tree climbing.
“A brilliant band...
I think this is
absolutely amazing”
Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2
3 Daft Monkeys
Social Vertigo
3DMO 3DM6
Click on any ALBUM COVER to buy now
The Queensberry Rules
Landlocked
Fellside FECD210 DK
This feisty Stoke-on-Trent trio (Phil Hulse
and brothers Duncan & Gary Wilcox)
made big ripples with The Black Dog…,
and album number five, Landlocked,
consolidates their stance with more of
the same – affectionate but hard-hitting
commentaries on things that matter (the
state of the nation) set alongside stories
from their own local heritage which
provide historical perspective.
Echoes of Show Of Hands, Bragg,
Chumba, Lindisfarne, Tom Bliss provide
both reference points and inspirations,
but QR have their own identity. As
instrumentalists all three men have a
keen feel for idiom and dynamics, while
their vocal harmonies are well managed.
Their songs are well crafted, with catchy
hooks and singalong choruses. Highlights
include Molly Leigh (the Stoke witch’s
tale), the leaving-song Farewell and I Still
Believe In England (discontent tempered
with hope).
Likeable, punchy and clear-sighted, the
Queensberry Rules display a breezy
confidence, lightness of touch and
scaled-down texture while retaining an
un-pushy kind of immediacy so that
neither the angry conviction nor the
integrity of their vision gets diluted.
.....................................
“A dazzling brand of contemporary roots
with pop and rock immediacy” Rock’n’Reel
Last issue, you may remember the praises we sang
of a certain Cornish DIY Folk 3-piece who’s Go Tell
The Bees EP had got us feeling all unnecessary. Fast
forward to Febraury 2008 and their brand new
Social Vertigo long player - an album which makes
good on the promise of both the EP and the hyper
live shows they’ve been turning in at the clubs and
fields of Europe over the past year.
Like their champions and touring pals The Levellers,
3 Daft Monkeys are one of those groups that seem to
have been born and raised to play at music festivals. To
these ears, they’re direct descendants of the euphoria and
communal spirit triggered by the early 90s rave culture,
which has evolved into the open-minded and cosmopolitan
mix of music and people at today’s festivals.
Marrying original songs to the good-time elements of folk
and dance music from around the world, their carnival
fusion sound and energy packed live shows are a treat both
for the seasoned music fan and the ever-growing legion of
devotees leaping around at the front of their gigs.
The socio-politically conscious subject matter in some of the
songs affirms guitarist and songwriter Tim Ashton’s Punk
history, with Eastern tinges and fiddle jigs coming via
violinist Athene Roberts’ Folk and Classical background,
while Bassist Jamie Waters’ Reggae past provides a boon on
the low end.
Catriona MacDonald
Over The Moon
Peerie Angel Productions PAP002CD JTR
On her long awaited second album,
award-winning Shetland fiddler Catriona
MacDonald applies her undisputed folk
chops to a series of tunes underpinned
by the rhythms and forms of a genre all
too often overlooked in traditional music
– Jazz.
On listening to the results, it’s difficult to
see why these genres don’t cross paths
more often. The dense, offbeat piano
chords and the jump and swing of the
spritely double bass and brushed drums
are the perfect springboard for the
acrobatic reels and jigs on display here.
Particularly successful is Souper Caper, a
tune that would sound equally at home
in Ronnie Scotts or Brecon Jazz as it
would at the Cambridge Festival.
This however, is all unmistakably folk, as
Catriona blends traditional tunes with
compositions from Shetland luminaries
past and present, as well as her own
pieces which are steeped in the island’s
sound. From the beautiful slow air of
Wonderland, to the exuberant
Five Reel Set, her rich, dexterous
command of the fiddle leads the rhythm
section from basement club into the
fresh, open air of Scotland.
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“Fantastic” Mark Knopfler
CHUMBAWAMBA
THE
QUEENSBERRY
RULES
CATRIONA
MACDONALD
And it’s amazing how much they get out of such minimal
instrumentation… With just Acoustic guitar, fiddle and bass,
most trios would be exhausted for ideas after one album,
but 3 Daft Monkeys have enough ingredients in their
collective musical pantry to infuse each tune with wildly
different spices. With its insistent foot-drum pulse, album
opener Paranoid Big Brother comes on like a pumped-up
dance anthem a la the Afrocelts, while recent single Go Tell
The Bees’ cheeky pizzicato intro gives way to a rich, languid,
Mediterranean sway. Eyes Of Gaia expertly connects the 3
Daft Monkeys musical dots by fusing a hyper-Ska rhythm
and dub bassline to an exotic violin motif (which pops up
again as a tune in it’s own right at the end of the album).
Though there’s a melancholy and justifiable paranoia in
much of the subject matter, the overall feeling of the music
is one of defiant jubilation, and it’s this that comes across
on the album and especially in their live performances. Like
the travelling sideshows of the past, 3 Daft Monkeys provide
entertainment with a sinister undercurrent creeping out
from the threadbare seams. The band even look the part on
the CD inlay; a backstage burlesque collage of music hall
placards, top hat and tails, vintage gowns, candles, dreads
and red wine. Who says Vaudeville is dead?
JTR
OUT NOW PHOTO: NIALL X.