Untie the Wind
CD by Telling the Bees
Review by Bobcat
This is the first album from Telling
the Bees, the new band headed by one of my favourite bards, Andy Letcher. They
call it a darker shade of folk, and it is certainly not as bouncy as his
earlier music with Jabberwocky. On this CD he is joined by Colin Fletcher,
Jane Griffiths and Josie Webber, the four of them crafting a rich mixture of sounds with, among other
instruments, the mandolin, pipes, fiddle, cello, piano accordion and
bass.
I like it. There is a mellow
ease about it, but not one that shimmers with joy. Instead it feels
more like the softness that comes with a quality of soul weariness, of the days
after active protest when the world is not much changed. There is an
interesting whisper of bitterness barely
discernible amidst the late summer melodies, as if lying back with a cup of
cider and the hum of the bees at the end of a harvest that was only just
adequate, wondering if there was anything more we could have done.
Some don't like Andy's voice, but
for me it is as fluid and unperturbed as many other medieval instruments,
moving around the notes, sliding off the pitch like rough
honey. More importantly, it is thick with that mellow oblique
passion which infuses this album, whether he's talking about the momentary
trivia of life or of rage and death.
For those who like acid folk that
feels like a late summer's evening, this is a beautiful debut album.
Return to CD Reviews
