Kings of the South Seas – Franklin
Hudson Records – 2 February 2018
It’s surprising to discover an album about a disastrous 19th-century Arctic expedition that has so much contemporary resonance. Franklin draws its material from events surrounding Captain Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to the Arctic, in 1845–1848, to locate the Northwest Passage, where all 129 crew members died.
What brings the eerie events into current focus is the recent discovery of the remains of those two ships, at the bottom of the icy seas off Northern Canada, almost 170 years later. The sunken wreck of HMS Erebus was located in September 2014. Then in September 2016, HMS Terror was found – remarkably intact – submerged in Terror Bay, off the south-west coast of King William Island.
The story of Lord Franklin and his crew are set to make more waves when AMC TV network broadcasts The Terror this year – a 10-part fictionalised fantasy account of the expedition based on Dan Simmons’ novel, produced by Ridley Scott.
Following their well-received debut album of 19th century whaling songs, Kings of the South Seas have sailed north to chart songs and stories surrounding Franklin’s ill-fated odyssey, which sparked a catalogue of calamitous rescue attempts in the late 19th century – more lives were lost seeking to locate the lost ships than died in the initial expedition.
Franklin features Canadian airs, English ballads, Victoriana, a hymn and songs written by crew members on board arctic-bound ships. Enjoyment of the album will depend on your appreciation of Ben Nicholls’ deep polar-bear baritone. At first, it may prove a shock-to-the-system as his singing is so far removed not only from contemporary pop/rock stylings, but also from your usual folk singers.
For me, Ben’s bellow perfectly accompanies these seafaring songs – you believe he has the stature to survive sub-zero temperatures and return home to weave tall tales of his adventures. As well as lungs that could propel a Hecla-class bomb vessel through the Northwest Passage, Ben plays concertina, organ, bass guitar and banjo. He’s best known as an in-demand sideman for folk acts too numerous to list here but includes The Full English, Seth Lakeman Band and Nadine Shah Band.
Richard Warren (ex-Spiritualized) provides space rock – and distinctly un-folky – electric guitar. His playing summons up the crack of the ice and roar of a glacier, profoundly enhancing the mood of the tracks. Completing the trio is the experimental drummer and percussionist Evan Jenkins (Neil Cowley Trio) – never showy, always choosing a rhythm to drive the song and beat out the horrors hidden beneath the icy tundra.
Opening track Reason’s Voyage builds from vocal and concertina to the full band – an optimistic start to the journey but with hints of the savagery and struggles to come. Death of a Gull boasts the creepiest banjo this side of Deliverance and is a showcase for Evan’s masterful and evocative percussion. Richard’s chiming guitar strikes a chill at the start of Song of Defeat, and things descend darker as an ominous organ pipes up – alongside sparse, disquieting drums. This is an album that welcomes seasoned travellers and old sea dogs – pleasure cruisers and day trippers are ejected overboard.
A menagerie of beasts are shot, plucked and left to their fate in the frozen wastes during the course of the album. And if you are concerned about the welfare of animals, dumb humans don’t fare much better with impending death and suffering always near at hand – the perils of seeking fame and fortune in the most treacherous God-forsaken place on earth.
Ben bellowing ‘Redeemer King Creator’ in the missionary hymn Greenland’s Icy Mountain may be enough to make even the most unrepentant sinner fall to their knees. But an icy grave for all eternity seems to be the only escape offered here.
Yes, it’s a bleak album – that’s it’s intent. But the compulsion to listen echoes the determination of those Victorian adventurers. There is something mystical and otherworldly about these three musicians and the alchemy they produce together. It’s well worth the treacherous journey to reach the other side.
Franklin is out now on Hudson Records: https://kotss.lnk.to/franklin
http://www.kingsofthesouthseas.net/