Siobhan Miller – Mercury
Songprint Recordings – 2 November
Singer-songwriter Siobhan Miller is the only three-time winner of the Best Singer at the Scots Trad Music Awards (2011, 2013 and 2017); a trio of successes that was topped off earlier this year with the accolade of Best Traditional Track at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. That track was Banks of Newfoundland, from Siobhan’s second solo album, Strata; a beautifully rich compendium of traditional and contemporary folk song. Mercury, Siobhan’s third solo album, was released on 2nd November, and this time she’s presented us with a fine collection of self-written songs that skilfully merge the folk traditions that have inspired, and nourished, her work since an early age, with her own contemporary approach to music.
Opening with the title track, Mercury, the album sets off at an immediately engaging, breezy pace; with layers of soft vocal and a richly textured backing, driven along by percussion from Admiral Fallow’s Louis Abbott. It’s a welcome reminder of Siobhan’s 2014 solo debut, Flight of Time, a highly praised album that was a departure from the traditional songs on which she had already built a solid reputation. Flight of Time did far more than hint at Siobhan’s versatility, it confirmed her skill as singer, writer and arranger in no uncertain terms. Mercury‘s opening seems even bolder than Siobhan’s impressive debut; aided by the presence of a talented wind section, Iain Hutchison’s atmospheric guitar, Hannah Read on fiddle and additional backing vocals from Eddi Reader. Siobhan has recently been touring with Eddi Reader and she also lends her singular voice to the driven pace of the positive and forward-looking Keep Me Moving On.
There’s no lack of positivity in this album, the gentle opening of Sorrow When The Day Is Done leads to a confident, infectious beat, and there’s a sense of strength and support in the communal chorus, upbeat piano and quietly uplifting brass.
“We each go down
every one
In sorrow when the day is done”
Mercury is the first of Siobhan’s albums to feature only her own songs, and among those are co-writes with Kris Drever (who also lent his voice to that spirit-lifting chorus), Louis Abbott and the album’s producer Euan Burton. There are a host of influences, contemporary and traditional, to explore and as evidenced in those opening tracks, a strong core band featuring John Lowire (Keyboards), Louis Abbott (drums), Innes White (acoustic guitar), Euan Burton (bass) and Rachel Lightbody (backing vocals).
Siobhan Miller is no stranger to collaboration, of course. She graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) with Fara‘s Jeana Leslie. They recorded two acclaimed albums together, and were voted Up and Coming Artist of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards in 2009. She was also a founding member of Salt House, with Euan Burton, Lauren MacColl and Ewan MacPherson, and has toured and recorded extensively with a host of world-class musicians. Siobhan can also add acting to her list of achievements, having made an appearance in the first series of Outlander.
That’s a wealth of experience to draw on and has, perhaps, some bearing on one of the central themes that surfaced while Siobhan was writing for the album. Siobhan has said that she was inspired by regular reminders of the songs and music that have been passed to her, and the association they had with memories – either retained, discarded or lost. Carrying Stream certainly seems to support that notion, opening with beautifully rich guitars and charting a lifetime of memories, the song proves how successfully Siobhan and Euan work together as writers. The same partnership has produced one of Mercury’s most memorable and engaging songs, The Western Edge. Inspired by Kenneth Steven’s remarkable suite of poems, A Song Among the Stones is an imagined journey by the very earliest Celtic monks, setting forth from Iona to seek solitude on Iceland. Siobhan’s musical retelling of these fragments echoes the evocative imagery of Steven’s work. With Lauren MacColl’s violin and Kris Drever’s guitar, The Western Edge weaves a rich, colourful tapestry; a song that lingers in the memory, and draws the listener back for frequent visits. Kris Drever also contributes his talent as a co-writer in the beautifully paced Losing; Innes White’s guitars and Megan Henderson’s softly sweeping violin add pathos to a poignant and thought-provoking song.
That careful pace makes itself felt throughout the album. Slowest Days is a gentle lull of a song that opens with Louis Abbott’s picked acoustic guitar and paints delicate portraits among the pair’s well-matched vocals. In the quietly pensive Strandline, the piano accompaniment is joined by the soft elegance of Megan’s violin. The Growing Dawn offers further scope for reflection, inspired by James Robertson’s beautiful poem about loss, The Bird that was Trapped has Flown.
Mercury draws to a lilting close with Let Me Mean Something. Siobhan’s voice could melt the hardest of hearts at times, and it’s brimming with soft potency here alongside acoustic guitar and the quiet, but spacious strum of an electric guitar.
“If I could remain right here, lending you a loving ear
Would I mean something, anything at all?
Would I mean something, to you?”
Mercury has a clear, vibrant sound that holds a wide appeal; a rich and perfectly balanced blend of traditional and contemporary sounds. It could be said that Siobhan Miller has found a winning formula with her music, but that would be doing her a disservice. There’s nothing formulaic about Siobhan’s music, it’s as natural and honest as any album that finds a contemporary voice for traditional roots. Mercury builds on the strength of its two thoroughly impressive predecessors, in an album of outstanding quality that delights with its music, and enthrals with its song.
Siobhan is on an extensive UK tour right now, with Aiden Moodie, John Lowrie and Euan Burton, see upcoming dates below.
Order Mercury here http://smarturl.it/MercuryNOV02
Siobhan Miller – Upcoming Tour Dates
NOVEMBER
8 – PEEBLES – Eastgate Arts Centre
12 – NETTLEBED – Nettlebed Village Club
13 – FROME – Cooper Hall
14 – CAMBRIDGE – Junction
15 – MELLOR BROOK – Community Centre
17 – HORSHAM – The Capitol
18 – MILTON KEYNES – The Stables
19 – YORK – National Centre for Early Music
20 – LIVERPOOL – Philharmonic Hall
23 – INVERNESS – Eden Court
24 – KIRKWALL – The Sound Archive
25 – WICK – Lyth Arts Centre
FEBRUARY
3 – GLASGOW – Celtic Connections – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (New Auditorium)
https://www.siobhanmiller.com/