Kit Hawes and Aaron Catlow – Pill Pilots
Big Badger Records – March 2020
As well as playing together as part of Bristol’s enthusiastic Sheelanagig ensemble and separately in various projects including Seth Lakeman’s band and Afro Celt Sound System, guitarist Kit Hawes and violinist Aaron Catlow crafted a duo in the traditional mould of acoustic guitar and fiddle based music, blending original writings with arranged versions of traditional songs, collected from various sources. Their 2016 debut The Fox was a confident set of beautifully played and well-written tunes and this their second is a splendid follow-up, slightly darker in tone (you can tell immediately from the sombre shade of the beautiful artwork by Rosanna Morris across the packaging). Kit’s voice also has a hint of gravel to it this time around and an even more subtle suggestion of world-weariness that lends itself very well to many of these songs, particularly ‘Hard Times of Old England’, which to me is a key track on the album.
However, there are many big-hitting songs here, not least opener ‘I Know My Love’, a traditional Irish song from the point of view of a vexed, perhaps shunned maid, here switched to a male protagonist fretting over his ‘errant rover’ love with her ‘troubled mind’. It is played with strummed guitar and a lovely violin line that adds some romance and optimism to the concerned narrator. ‘The Yellow Handkerchief’ is an altogether slower played and sang number, inspired by gypsy singer Phoebe Smith’s version. The song is ubiquitous and goes by ‘Flash Company’ and ‘First I Loved Thomas’ among other names and is given plenty of respect here as it adheres closely to Smith’s solo rendition, with the lo-fi intro containing just minimal fiddle alongside Kit’s sober singing. The guitar playing is as considered as Aaron’s strings in the main body too, with skeletal notes supporting the emotive vocals. The duo recorded the album live in one room to celebrate fiddle and guitar music in folk song and the approach undoubtedly brings a certain magic to these beautiful old songs.
Along with six vocal numbers, there are three instrumental pieces here where Kit and Aaron have plenty of room to let loose and demonstrate their prowess and musical relationship. ‘Kellaways’ is a three-part track with some wonderfully playful bowing from Aaron that strangely reminded me of Warren Ellis in Dirty Three mode, while ‘The Warreners’, another original composition, this time in two parts, contains some gorgeous melancholy melodies (before a second-half dance tune) and some super crisp flat-picking from Kit. Again, the quality of the recording is hugely important here, as the listener feels in the room with the pair, achieving a real sense of intimacy. The final instrumental ending the set is ‘Hacky Honey / Lads of Alnwick’, a pair of seventeenth-century Scottish and English small pipe tunes and is possibly my favourite track here, so lovely in its simplicity, yet perfect in its energy and musicianship. It is an optimistic end to the set, but before it comes ‘Hard Times of Old England’, a ballad from the Napoleonic war seen as fitting for contemporary life. Like with ‘The Yellow Handkerchief’, Kit sings it slow and clear, but his voice lifts in places and Aaron comes in with backing vocals in others, just suggesting some light with the shade. It is a wonderful song, finely nuanced and intelligently performed and is a high point on the album.
But there are many fine songs and highlights across the nine, including Aaron’s title track, which plays like a bit of a swashbuckler, with the pair having fun getting their teeth into a well-told maritime Bristol tale. Elsewhere on ‘Flame of Fire’, a traditional sailor’s tale taken from a version by Martin Carthy, the ever-versatile Kit brings in a heavier thumbed guitar technique to channel Martin’s playing while singing a classically bleak folk tale. In short, there are many delights to be found throughout Pill Pilots, which boasts great songs treated with love and respect by a pair of the finest players currently performing. Recommended indeed.
Pre-Order Pill Pilots via bandcamp
Kit Hawes and Aaron Catlow Upcoming Dates
28/02 – Ryepiece Barn, Stratford-upon-Avon
01/03 – Slaughtered Lamb, London
02/03 – Colchester Arts Centre, Colchester
03/03 – Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
05/03 – Melbury Osmond Village Hall, Dorchester
06/03 – Pound Arts, Corsham
07/03 – Briantspuddle Village Hall, Dorchester
08/03 – Child Okeford Village Hall, Blandford Forum
11/03 – Llantrisant Folk Club, Pontyclun
More here: https://www.kitandaaron.com/