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Tidings, the debut album from The Magpies, is packed with a heady mixture of ingredients, songs and tunes, traditional and original compositions, and even a couple borrowed from outside of the band. Sources and influences that are English, Celtic, Appalachian, Balkan, and a potpourri of instruments, ensure each track has something fresh to deliver. One thing is constant, though, the high quality of the music and its performance.

It’s easy to understand how this smorgasbord of ingredients has come about by tracing the band’s evolution. In 2017, Polly Bolton and Bella Gaffney began performing as a duo. Previously, Bella, as a solo artist, had mixed her own with traditional songs while Polly was into Bluegrass and Old-Time as part of the trio, Stillhouse. By the time I saw them in August 2018, they’d been joined by cellist Sarah Smout who brought in her own compositions and carefully crafted accompaniments, honed while playing with the likes of Gren Bartley. Then, later that year, fiddle player Holly Brandon joined, and the quartet officially became The Magpies. When faced with such varied riches, it may have been tempting to narrow the focus when choosing the album material. But we can be grateful The Magpies took the diametrically opposite route, exploring all their many influences, hunting out commonalities and crossovers.

Tidings opens with the oft-recorded Child ballad, The Two Magicians, a magical battle between a lady and a lusty smith with her maidenhead at stake.In the version chosen by The Magpies, the lady turns herself into a dove, a mare, a tree and finally a bed, at which point the smith captures the prize by becoming the coverlet. The arrangements are exceptional, and it takes us straight to the heart of what their mix of talents can achieve. The opening few seconds set up a rhythm, Bella’s guitar and Polly’s mandolin, strummed on muted strings. As the strings unmute, it’s the guitar that initially moves to the front, backed by the mandolin, soon joined by Bella’s vocal. Behind the vocal, Holly’s fiddle adds increasingly expressive fills, Sarah’s cello gives depth, and other voices join with the first two lines of each chorus. As the last piece of the jigsaw, Polly’s mandolin takes the lead for the instrumental break. All this is just the first song and barely scratches the surface of the musical goodies The Magpies can create.

Tracks:
01 - The Two Magicians
02 - Catharsis
03 - Run River Run
04 - Rock of Ages
05 - Foss Island
06 - No More Tears
07 - Shuffle Set
08 - Galway Shawl
09 - Golden Girl
10 - Balls to the Wall

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiB_-bmXT54