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album reviews

Bellowhead



Burlesque 9 ( 2006 )
Rigs Of The Time Jordan / Across The Line / London Town / Sloe Gin / Courting Too Slow / Flash Company / Hopkinson's Favourite / One May Morning Early / Outlandish Knight / Frog's Legs And Dragon's Teeth / Fire Marengo

The saviours of British folk music! I haven’t been this excited by a new folk album since Eliza Carthy produced ‘Red’ and I’ve been searching ever since for something. Somebody to showcase the sheer joy that English folk music can be, in a modern setting. Seth Lakeman has come close although rather than breaking down barriers, he merely writes excellent modern and contemporary folk music - Bellowhead are rather different. There’s a core group of singers in the rich and varied folk tradition. There’s the usual array of folk instrumentation. There’s a brass band……. er, hang on. A brass band? Well, most of one at least. Fully integrated into the Bellowhead ensemble are a group of musicians playing a range of brass instruments. So, we get a morris-dance jig complete with clashing of bells of the relevant garb and a parping trumpet adding another dimension. We get ‘London Town’, a traditional sounding piece transformed by the sheer joy of the band performing it. The brass sounds come across as strangely modern yet ancient at the same time. A very fresh, exciting sound that’s had gig-goers amazed and actually enjoying folk music. I hope Ashley Hutchings, Martin Carthy etc are aware of this excellent new group.

As if to complete an almost impossibly good start to the album, ‘Courting Too Slow’ moves the aptly named ‘Burlesque’ into calmer waters, the party moves into reflective mode. Mournful trumpet sounds accompany the singer, two/three other voices then accompany the singer. It’s believable. Oh, back to ‘London Town’. Whilst everything is going on in this positive jamboree of a tune, I’m reminded briefly of The Divine Comedy. Not a folk-band at all, rather a indie-pop group. Just a brief flutter of a similarity in one particular section. It’s enough for me to be able to say Bellowhead do indeed have the ability to transcend genres, whether limited or otherwise. ‘Rigs Of Our Time’ and another song or two appear to suddenly aquire Frank Zappa percussion! A great instrumental ‘Frogs Legs And Dragon Teeth’ is worthy all on its own. ‘Jordon’ will have you singing along and the only critiscm I have is that there are almost too many riches on display. You’ll have to put it down at some point two-thirds of the way through because your teeth will fall out through all the shaking and stomping you’ve been doing. You know, sit down and have a cup of strong black coffee and start all over again. Up to the rigs, down to the jigs….. of LONDON TOWN. Stupendous stuff and one of the most exciting debuts I’ve ever heard. If I gave out awards, this one would receive the innovation award. Can anybody draw? I need some awards!

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Readers Comments Philthy Phil philthyphil@ntlworld.com I bought this album a week or so back and I CAN'T stop playing it! This is simply the best new band I have heard for a very, very long time. I agree with everything you said Adrian - my only qualm is that the only thing you could find against it is that it is TOO good - and for that, seemingly, you docked a point! I particularly like the mixture of styles on display here. They are a folk band, right? (Albeit one with 3/4 of a brass band as a horn section.) So what are they doing playing dub reggae better than most dub reggae bands in "Hopkinson's favourite"? And the fiddle at the start of "The Outlandish Knight" could have been lifted straight out of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherezade" (my favourite track on the album btw.) This is a band composed of consumate musicians, possessed of an absolute delight in the music they are playing, and the arrangements are superbly (er... arranged!) to bring this delight to the fore in every song. The shifts in mood; from! exuberance to melancholy; from frivolity to seriousness; from danceability to... Oh, come on - it's ALL danceable! - are seemless, both between and within the songs. I absolutely MUST see this band performing live as soon as is humanly possible. 10/10.

The official Bellowhead website bellowhead.co.uk is subtitled 'English World Music'. This eleven-piece ensemble have been picking up fans everywhere they've been these past three years and you know what? Unlikely as it may seem, I really hope they break into the album charts. John Spiers ( melodeon & concertina ) and Jon Boden ( lead singer & fiddle ) deserve sales as well as acclaim for what they've done here with Bellowhead. Certain writers are even comparing the impact of Bellowhead to that of Fairport and Pentangle, quite some comparison. When I first picked up 'Matachin' I wanted to see if there was a giddy party jig, aka 'London Town' from 'Burlesque'. Spotting a song titled 'Whiskey Is The Life Of Man', I skipped forwards and listened. Carefully noting from the informative liner notes that the song is a shanty that was sung in England and North America and made popular by of all things a bearded Yorkshireman. Anyway, the first two seconds of the track are enough to convince anyone worried Bellowhead couldn't match the quality of 'Burlesque'. It also helps of course that the song is about Whiskey and has a drunken, marching feel.

Bellowhead have dug 'Fakenham Fair' out from somewhere and given it an sweet arrangement that brings out some beautiful melodies. If any Bellowhead tune so far could provide them with a crossover pop hit, this could be the one. Big words of praise by the way for the female vocals in the mix, they really do send chills through me when the harmonies come in. So, we've got two excellent songs in 'Fakenham Fair' and 'Whiskey Is The Life Of Man'? Well, we've got a third in 'Roll Her Down The Bay', a stupendously well-arranged piece of folk music. Parping trumpets and deep bass notes evoke love and life - and hats off to band member Pete Flood for arranging this tune! Cholera Camp' witnesses a Kipling poem married to unsettling music that revels in both tragedy and high comedy. 'Trip To Bucharest' is an original composition by band member Rachael McShane and yet another superbly arranged piece. The sound this 11 piece band make and the imagination they put into their music builds 'Matachin' into a series of movies. Only a couple of tunes towards the end of the album seem to suggest Bellowhead running out of steam, but only suggest. 'Bruton Town' for instance is very good with some nice cool jazzy melody lines. Jazz folk? Whatever next!

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