Untie the Wind

Untie the Wind

CD by Telling the Bees

£12 from: www.tellingthebees.co.uk

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.

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