Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman – On Reflection
I-Scream – Out Now
Incredibly, the Dartmoor-based husband-and-wife duo Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman have been making music together for a quarter of a century. The first time they worked together was when they were both members of “folk supergroup” The Equation, the indecently youthful folk-rock outfit that with its freshness of imagination and forward-thrusting vigour achieved much prominence and acclaim during the half-dozen years straddling the millennium which is covered in an in-depth two-part interview here on Folk Radio: Part 1/Part 2 – It’s worth noting too, that The Equation also included within its ranks chanteuse Cara Dillon and Sean’s brother Seth, both of whom have gone on to award-winner and headliner status). It’s probably all too easy, and convenient, to observe (with hindsight) that Kathryn and Sean were a natural musical partnership, one waiting to happen – and indeed, this was confirmed by their releasing their first duo album proper – the snappily-titled “1” – in 2001, before The Equation called it a day.
Since that time, throughout five successive duo album releases Kathryn and Sean have honed and polished their act – their chemistry with each other and their audience is proven many times over, and anyone witnessing their live appearances will testify as to their massive natural talent for storytelling in song, which On Reflection both acknowledges and celebrates. It’s essentially what it says on the tin, in that Kathryn and Sean are taking a step aside to consolidate the progress of their career so far by taking time out for reflecting. Which in this instance means a suitably all-encompassing 27-date UK tour (starting today – 27th February), for which this CD is a direct calling-card (if inevitably the tip of its iceberg repertoire-wise). For On Reflection, the couple have gone into the studio to revisit and reinterpret some songs from their back-catalogue (temporally speaking, ranging from Equation’s 1996 album Return To Me through to their next-to-latest album, 2015’s Tomorrow Will Follow Today). All but one of the erstwhile Equation numbers here are trad-arr, however, so in that respect On Reflection is a touch one-sided, for latterly the duo are performing more in the way of self-penned material.
Listening to those Equation albums again of late, it struck me just how good they were – how assured and sassy, real thrusting folk-rock storming out of the speakers. The Roberts & Lakeman revisits may be less overtly folk-rocky, sure, but they have retained that tremendous sense of assurance and have over the intervening years proved themselves many times over as expert storytellers and communicators. Just catch a live show, and you’ll see this at once, for they create an instant rapport and draw you in. I could perform a “compare and contrast” exercise between the original recorded versions of Mother And Child (aka In The Month Of January), Sailor Boy, Golden Bird (a variant of The Grey Cock) and Willow Tree, but that may seem pointless, for the present recordings represent where they are now, and they’re excellent, with a telling command of idiom and a respect for accessibility. Lovely Nancy (from both The Dark Ages EP and “1”) however, is a radically different reading, its former lightly skipping staccato now slowed down to a measured and more reflective legato delivery – but hey, it’s equally valid.
Finally to On Reflection’s self-penned tracks. Cry Wolf, one of The Equation’s poppier moments, is still impressive, while Oxford N.Y. gains even more from the couple’s even more sure-footed use of studio facilities and a skilful new arrangement. Kathryn’s “whale song”, 52 Hertz, a standout track from the Tomorrow… album is taken more slowly here and loses some of its Kate Bush aura but still makes a considerable impact. The final pair of tracks appear on CD for the first time – Gryla is one of those intriguing story-songs that Kathryn does so well, while The Cows Of Mystery is a gleeful little throwaway with a decidedly silly premise (no spoiler alert here!).
This is an album of consolidation, then. For each one of these contemporary revisits proves totally engaging and illustrates all that makes the couple so popular an attraction. The album also presents the couple as a well-rounded act with a well-defined presence, two personalities who can always find something new in a song and are able to innovate and communicate with keen and consistent production values. And that’s some achievement in this day and age, in my opinion.
Order On Reflection here: https://www.kathrynrobertsandseanlakeman.com/shop
On Tour now: https://www.kathrynrobertsandseanlakeman.com/tour