Amy Thatcher – Solo
Self Released – 5 May 2019
This may come as a surprise, but I love the accordion. Tom Waits claims a gentleman is someone who can play the accordion but doesn’t. The accordion is so un-hip, it’s hip! An often overlooked and maligned instrument, it is capable of a wide range of expression and musical styles. From Nino Rota’s iconic soundtracks to Astor Piazzolla’s experimental tango, to Swedish accordionist Ida Hidle virtuosic mastery of the instrument, the accordion has a long and colourful history and an equally promising future.
Amy Thatcher is a member of The Shee and the Monster Ceilidh Band as well as Kathryn Tickell’s ‘right-hand woman’ and a member of her band ‘The Side’. As such she is firmly entrenched in the progressive folk scene and has many years of touring, writing and recording under her belt. Solo, is her first, well, solo outing, and it’s a wonderful showcase for her skills on the instrument. It would be fair to call Amy a virtuoso, but don’t let that scare you. Solo is a playful, whimsical exploration of the accordion, full of beautiful, quirky melodies, unexpected rhythmic turns and an overall sense of joy and spontaneity. It’s also a deeply personal work, with various tunes inspired by friends and life events.
I suppose it’s futile to try to avoid the Yann Tiersen comparisons since his soundtrack to the movie “Amelie” was such an iconic piece of music and a rare showcase for the instrument. In this vein, “April’s Child” is a lovely waltz, elegantly minimal, while “Jo Lin” is a playful tune dancing whimsically over booming left-hand bass.
“Ian’s Favorite” is a bittersweet Celtic sounding tune, and like the best tunes in this style, evokes both joy and melancholy, much like the landscape of the places where the genre was created.
In some places the album almost sounds like a musical meditation, coaxing minimalist musical textures out of the instrument, once again showing its endless versatility. “Resolution” reminds me of a modernist Nino Rota writing the score to a morning walk through the empty streets of a small village in Italy. “Study One” sounds like Philip Glass arranged for the accordion, an elegant structure of intertwined melodic lines, creating a sombre and stately piece.
Closer “Stomping Clogs” ( Remix) is an oddity, a lo-fi experimental dance tune using accordion and clog sounds.
With Solo, Amy Thatcher not only puts herself on the map as one of the masters of the accordion but she also further cements her reputation as a fearless experimenter within British folk music. Solo is a welcome new addition to the strange and wonderful world of accordion music, and a joy to listen to.