The Magpies – Tidings
Corvus Studio – Out Now
Tidings, the debut album from The Magpies, is packed with a heady mixture of ingredients, songs and tunes, traditional and original compositions, and even a couple borrowed from outside of the band. Sources and influences that are English, Celtic, Appalachian, Balkan, and a potpourri of instruments, ensure each track has something fresh to deliver. One thing is constant, though, the high quality of the music and its performance.
It’s easy to understand how this smorgasbord of ingredients has come about by tracing the band’s evolution. In 2017, Polly Bolton and Bella Gaffney began performing as a duo. Previously, Bella, as a solo artist, had mixed her own with traditional songs while Polly was into Bluegrass and Old-Time as part of the trio, Stillhouse. By the time I saw them in August 2018, they’d been joined by cellist Sarah Smout who brought in her own compositions and carefully crafted accompaniments, honed while playing with the likes of Gren Bartley. Then, later that year, fiddle player Holly Brandon joined, and the quartet officially became The Magpies. When faced with such varied riches, it may have been tempting to narrow the focus when choosing the album material. But we can be grateful The Magpies took the diametrically opposite route, exploring all their many influences, hunting out commonalities and crossovers.
Tidings opens with the oft-recorded Child ballad, The Two Magicians, a magical battle between a lady and a lusty smith with her maidenhead at stake.In the version chosen by The Magpies, the lady turns herself into a dove, a mare, a tree and finally a bed, at which point the smith captures the prize by becoming the coverlet. The arrangements are exceptional, and it takes us straight to the heart of what their mix of talents can achieve. The opening few seconds set up a rhythm, Bella’s guitar and Polly’s mandolin, strummed on muted strings. As the strings unmute, it’s the guitar that initially moves to the front, backed by the mandolin, soon joined by Bella’s vocal. Behind the vocal, Holly’s fiddle adds increasingly expressive fills, Sarah’s cello gives depth, and other voices join with the first two lines of each chorus. As the last piece of the jigsaw, Polly’s mandolin takes the lead for the instrumental break. All this is just the first song and barely scratches the surface of the musical goodies The Magpies can create.
There’s barely time to catch a breath before the mandolin is back, starting off a very lively treatment of Vermont fiddler Amy Cann’s tune, Catharsis. Mandolin is soon joined by fiddle, as befits the tune’s origins, and things become a little competitive. Behind, there’s a driving beat, presumably a stompbox, and also a beautiful bass line from Sarah’s cello. Two tracks in and, vocally and instrumentally, I’m totally sold on this album, but there’s still lots more to discover. Polly, Bella and Holly have contributed compositions to the album and the first, Bella’s song, Run River Run is next up. A sharp contrast to what’s gone before, this gentle, soulful song belies its lyrics. They’re far from gentle, recounting murder and suicide. Still, the persistent moody cello, countered with fiddle and mandolin almost convinces that one could find peace by allowing a river to wash your body out to sea; a beautifully constructed song.
The second song penned by Bella, No More Tears, tells of a woman who’s left her lover, has no tears left to cry for what’s passed, but few clear ideas of what’s to come. A strong song, and rendered genuinely memorable with an arrangement that pitches an unmistakably Appalachian banjo from Polly against the melodic strings of cello and fiddle. The Magpies have described their music as transatlantic folk; you couldn’t ask for a better example. They position themselves more firmly on the ocean’s west bank with the second cover they’ve included, Gillian Welch’s gospel flavoured Rock of Ages. Opening with more banjo, Polly’s voice enters with a diction that leaves no doubt she’s served her time in a bluegrass band. But it wouldn’t be the Magpie way to leave it at that. So, by the closing section, there are four voices, a choir taking on a simplified version of the melody backed by richly textured strings, and there’s still a banjo, fighting hard to be heard.
The many facets to The Magpies music that emerges from listening to this album make it a real treat for the ears, and there’s still a few more in store with the final three tracks. These are all strongly influenced by Polly in one way or another. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but, finding The Galway Shawl here, did momentarily take me aback. Without any hint of her Appalachian voice, nor of any Irish lilt, she’s produced a stunning, gentle vocal taken at a slower pace than many a version. She also provides the backbone of the accompaniment, introducing her third instrument, the bouzouki. It’s a song that in some quarters, might be considered hackneyed, but, to my ears, The Magpies breathe fresh life into it. It’s followed by Golden Girl, Polly’s own composition. A song of death and grief, set in the Yorkshire Dales of the 19th Century, Polly’s voice instils it with an eery quality that is perfectly suited to the tale. The accompaniment from Holly’s fiddle adds to this, introducing rhythms and tones unlike anything heard in the album so far. These find a fuller expression in the final track, Balls to the Wall, another Polly composition, this time an instrumental. With Polly leading the way on mandolin, the tune rapidly shows its true colours with rhythms and modes that place it closer to Romania or Bulgaria than to Polly’s native Yorkshire.
For their debut, The Magpies have produced an album that intrigues and delights, packed with variety and first-class musicianship. Whether you listen to it all in one or give each track the individual attention it deserves, entertainment is guaranteed. When the opportunity arises again, do try to catch a Magpies gig, their stage presence and banter adds immeasurably to their already excellent music.
Quaratunes: Rock of Ages (more ‘Quaratunes’ here)
https://www.themagpiesmusic.com/