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Drie dames die met hun virtuoos bespeelde instrumenten diverse soorten, folk, roots, noem maar op, meer dan eer aan doen. Het laatste nummer is meer dan verrassend.

The array of instruments and voices now available to The Magpies gives a more complete view. For Bella, whilst guitar remains her principal instrument, she plays the double bass on all but one of the eleven tracks and adds banjo to a couple. For new recruit Kate, the banjo is her principal instrument along with dobro, and she takes over guitar from Bella on two tracks. As with the 2020 album, Holly’s fiddle is a major component throughout and while Bella and Kate tend to share the lead vocals, all three voices contribute to backing vocals, posting some delightful harmonies.

The eleven tracks are split into nine songs and two tunes; five of the songs were written by band members, three are traditional, and there’s one slightly surprising cover. Each of the three traditional songs has a different provenance, a clear statement the mixing of influences that was such a strength of the previous album is still at the core of The Magpies’ music. Fall on my Knees is classic Appalachian old time, Hares on the Mountain, a song collected in many places across England, is also to be found in Ireland and America while I Never Will Marry is recognisably Irish, here given a plot twist, thanks to additional lyrics from Kate. Naturally, the desire to mix and blend influences permeates the band’s own compositions, further adding to the fascination of all the pieces.

The album opens with one of Kate’s compositions, Now and Then, a song about the push and pull of relationships, with an arrangement to match the theme. Dominated by banjo and fiddle, it punctuates rapid sections with slower sequences that bring Kate’s vocals to the fore, while the occasional full stop adds further emphasis to the lyrics. A track gaining impact from such pace changes might benefit from some percussion, and The Magpies don’t miss the trick, with hand percussion credited to Ben and Thomas Webster but giving no further information. Stand up Ben and Thomas, you do a great job on this track. Kate takes solo writing credit on one other track, If Time Were Money, a much gentler song on which she again takes lead vocal with the other two voices backing and harmonising to produce a dreamscape of a song. Kate’s use of a fretless banjo also contributes to the song’s restrained nature and lets Holly’s fiddle lead the accompaniment.

Bella has also written, and takes lead vocal, on two songs. The first, Undertow, is a deceptively gentle song given The Magpies’ trademark transatlantic feel through the combination of banjo and dobro. The lyrics, though, deal with the far from gentle consequences of drug addiction. Giving voice to a woman exploited by her dealer, the song leaves an unsettling earworm with its oft repeated line, “I can feel the undertow, this body’s not my own”.

I haven’t forgotten about the “slightly surprising” cover mentioned earlier; it’s the album’s final track. Take The Eurythmics’ song, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), replace the background synthesizer with fiddle and double bass, the lead synth with banjo, and you’re getting close to what The Magpies have produced. Then add all three voices to deliver the lyrics, and you have a surprising but thoroughly enjoyable closing track. It would seem The Magpies can successfully apply their unique polish to pretty much anything.

Tracks:
01. Now And Then
02. Undertow
03. Pass Me By
04. Solstice
05. Fall On My Knees
06. If Time Were Money
07. Hares On The Mountain
08. Galileo
09. Colin's Set
10. I Never Will Marry
11. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

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=KmMxPz7FFD8