Rachael McShane & The Cartographers – When All Is Still
Topic Records – 10 August 2018
Anyone with even a passing interest in British traditional music will be aware of the Topic Records. The venerable label turns eighty next year – it is the oldest independent label in existence – and is showing no sign of slowing down. Admirably, the people at Topic have never sought to rely wholly on nostalgic re-issues or a small quorum of high-profile artists, preferring to champion exciting, diverse acts from folk music’s illustrious past. The resulting roster sees genuinely great and often very popular albums rub shoulders with lost classics. But it is a rarity these days for the label to release something genuinely contemporary, something by a highly talented musician still making her way through the choppy waters of the record industry. But this is exactly what they have done with the new album by Rachael McShane and the Cartographers.
McShane is a cellist, fiddler, viola player and singer who served a long and productive musical apprenticeship in the great – and now sadly defunct – Bellowhead. Recently she has had a starring role in the highly original reworking of Peter Bellamy’s folk opera The Transports. When All Is Still is McShane’s first solo album in nine years, it shows no sign of rustiness or loss of momentum. It is a rollicking ride through a set of interestingly chosen traditional tunes, many with new arrangements written by McShane herself, or by melodeon supremo Julian Sutton, who has previously recorded with Kathryn Tickell and Sting. They are joined by guitarist Matthew Ord and a whole host of collaborative talent, including a number of former Bellowhead members.
There is a tendency in contemporary folk music to build albums around themes or concepts. While the results can often be great, it does sometimes limit the choice of songs on offer and dictate a mood to which the album is obliged to adhere. When All Is Still is a refreshing antidote to this. Perhaps because she has not released a great deal of solo music of late, McShane has allowed herself the freedom to choose from a range of less obvious and consequently more interesting songs. If there is a thread running through the record it is predicated on an awareness of the rich seam of humour inherent in folk music. Opening track The Molecatcher is the jaunty story of the perils of infidelity, sung with sprightly coquettishness by McShane. It is hardly an unknown song – it was known to Ralph Vaughan Williams, and versions have come down via Bob Copper and A.L. Lloyd to Peter Bellamy and Ewan MacColl – but it is less widely sung these days than perhaps it should be. McShane puts that right with a version that includes her own arrangement and a lovely waltz by Sutton.
Lady Isabel is a better-known song. Also called (amongst other things) The Outlandish Knight, different versions with different lyrics, outcomes and moral leanings, have existed since the mid-18th century. McShane’s arrangement begins in a minimal fashion and grows into something of an epic of retributive punishment, with Sutton’s melodeon particularly prominent. It never loses its lightness of touch, though, and McShane is a formidable singer, her style somewhere between Anne Briggs and Eliza Carthy.
‘There is definitely an element of mischief’, says McShane about the songs on this album. That turns out to be something of an understatement. The first two songs deal with infidelity and murder. The tune of the third – a celebratory industrial song from Huddersfield called Cropper Lads – was apparently inspired by an online game called Sushi Cat. It is that element of mischief that makes the album sparkle. Ploughman Lads – a saucy but tender love song inspired by Nic Jones’ version – straightens things out a little. It retains its traditional arrangement, but the brightness of the singing ensures that it still sounds fresh. Watch the video premiere below:
The instrumental set Waltzing At Giggleswick/The Ginger Cat Monster (the first by McShane, the second by Sutton) is by turns stately and cheeky, with the cheeky side winning out in the end. It puts McShane’s ample skill as a fiddler to the forefront, and the rapport between her instrument and Sutton’s is sublime. Two Sisters is altogether darker. The ever-popular themes of sibling rivalry and drowning are taken on with relish. The gleefully macabre details there for all to hear and McShane’s voice seems to gain power as the song progresses. Barley And Rye is indebted to the late Peter Bellamy’s wonderful version, and Mcshane more than does it justice. You can almost see the knowing twinkle in her eye as she sings about the cuckolded farmer who cares more for his ruined harvest than he does for his wife.
Sutton contributes a lovely, deeply evocative brace of tunes – Road To Tarset/Lake Of Swans – which are both rooted in the landscape of his native Northumberland. His melodeon playing is always subtle and soulful, and here it shines. The popular and extremely dark Sheath And Knife, a great example of folk music’s unhealthy relationship with incest, is a real treat. McShane’s passionate delivery gives it a kind of dusty grandeur which, along with a dramatic instrumental arrangement, is almost gothic in scale. Sylvie – a lesser-known version of the much-admired Sovay – is sung with a matter-of-fact directness that draws out the song’s personality brilliantly, and Matthew Ord’s delicate guitar work bubbles appealingly to the surface. The album closer Green Broom is perhaps its most impressive moment. The brisk verses cascade towards an ensemble finale, with a victorious brass section that erupts seemingly from nowhere arranged by Ian Stephenson (who also, it must be added, does a very good job indeed on the whole record’s production).
When All Is Still may be an album with its roots in tradition, but it has a freshness – sometimes bright and brittle, sometimes earthy and rambunctious – that makes these old songs seem wonderfully new. That freshness comes primarily from McShane’s singing. She is one of the finest vocalists in folk music today, and she has created a work of art which is remarkable for its clarity. It is one of the best collections of traditional songs you’ll hear all year.
Rachael McShane & The Cartographers Dates
Friday, August 10 – Album Launch Party, The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle upon Tyne
Saturday, August 18 – Folk East Festival
Saturday, September 1 – London Folk Festival, London
Monday, September 3 – The Lightship, Blyth (Rachael McShane only)
Saturday, October 20 – Manchester Folk Festival, Manchester
Sunday, October 21 – Riverhouse Barn (Brunch Concert), Walton-on-Thames
Wednesday, October 24 – Norden Farm Arts Centre, Maidenhead
Thursday, October 25 – Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea
Friday, October 26 – The Lights, Andover
Saturday, October 27 – The Slaughtered Lamb, London
Sunday, October 28 – Quay Arts Centre, Isle of Wight
Thursday, November 1 – Alexander’s Live, Chester
Friday, November 2 – The Civic, Barnsley
Saturday, November 3 – Kirkgate Arts, Cockermouth
Sunday, December 16 – The Froize, Woodbridge, Suffolk
When All Is Still is released on 10 August via Topic Records
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