Rock'n'Rolling folk
Fairport Convention is the oracle, and of course Steeleye Span and Pentangle and a swathe of others articulated, to varying degrees, entwined rock and folk elements in their musical voices.
Trembling Bells, a Glasgow-based band, takes the most fundamental of traditional music forms - folk - and pursues this further tradition of marrying hard-core rock with hard-core folk vocals [the glorious Lavinia Blackwall] and instrument requisites.
The rock thread is not the dominant seam, but tracks like 'All My Favourite Mistakes' and 'Otley Rock Oracle' do wear it well, the former hinting at Ten Years After but stealing freely from The Rolling Stones, and the latter cherry-picking from a wider range of garage to psychedelic rock influences. These two are superb.
It's a varied album and all the more engaging for this.
Sounds nice. Are these guys at the front of some sort of prog-folk revival. What do you think, Awe? Where did you first hear of them?
ReplyDeleteoh and by the way. On a recent trip to Eastern Europe I was on the Metro escalator and was astonished to see a poster waft past advertising a huge concert by Alvin Lee and Ten Years After. He is obviously Big In Hungary as they say and still Loving Like A Man showing that it can take ten years off you - if you can find it.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you again bb. I think the psyche-folk revival is well and truly revived. TB has two previous great albums, 'Carbeth' and 'Abandoned Love' and both are excellent. Other bands in this line of work I've been listening to today are Sproatly Smith and Pocahaunted [and there's obviously the more familiar Espers].
ReplyDeleteAlvin Lee tours and plays like a demon, just like the fret runs. And you're right, he doesn't look a whole lot older. Hey, does bucking barley keep you youthful?