Harbottle & Jonas: The Beacon

Harbottle & Jonas – The Beacon

Brook View Records – 26 March 2021

It could be argued that there has rarely been a more apt and relevant title for an album as The Beacon, the forthcoming release from Devon’s Harbottle & Jonas. Presenting a collection of songs inspired by the predicaments predicated by the pandemic which began here in 2020, like the flames of the beacons of the days of yore used to give warning, the album indeed serves a beacon of hope, of optimism and reflection.

This, their fifth album, once again sees their own contemporary, original and spirited songwriting melded with a healthy respect for the vibrancy and intensity of traditional folk music. The impetus for the creative inspiration underlying The Beacon was provided by the first lock-down last March, with the resultant offering, in their own words, “It has been a journey of discovery and has taught us the importance of love, compassion and empathy, whilst discovering the needs and delights of our inner creature.”

On this CD, as was often the case at live gigs, the duo becomes a trio, with collaborator Annie Baylis, whose vocals, violin, viola and accordion perfectly complement both David Harbottle’s vocals, acoustic guitar, cittern, banjo, bass and percussion and Freya Jonas’s vocals, harmonium, concertina, piano and glock. Add into the mix additional synth from engineer and producer Josh Best-Shaw, and the resultant overall effect is a magnificent sound which belies the number of musicians involved. Even more remarkable an effort given that the release was recorded in their living room.

Proceedings begin with the title track, with the eponymous Beacon referring to Ugborough Beacon, the 378-metre high ancient landmark on Dartmoor close to the South Dent home of David and Freya. Sonically, the music captures to perfection the dramatically expansive visual landscape of the moors, as three-part close-vocal harmonies ebb and flow around sumptuous strings which alternately swell in crescendo and wane in diminuendo (watch the accompanying video which premiered on Folk Radio UK here).

Several songs on this release are inspired by memories of individuals, either known to or admired by David and Freya. Edith Cavell, using words based on the poem of the same name written by Robert Lawrence Binyon, is David’s tribute to the heroic British nurse executed in the Great War and dedicated to NHS staff and key workers. Strings very much to the fore, the poignant subject matter is sympathetically treated and is indeed a glowing testimonial to heroes of both the past and present.

With F.C. Jonas, Freya’s song written for and inspired by her Grandad Fred, the delicate beauty of her voice is fully demonstrated, with a suitably sympathetic and melancholic accompaniment from Annie reflecting the sadness within the lyrics

‘You felt time slipping from you …

You say that you’ve lived too long

You’re tired of this life and you want to go home.’

With David’s Whenever You See A Robin, the inspiration for the song came from the stories told by friend and video/filmmaker Jake Caulty about his late father. The complex layers of sound alternating with a compelling guitar figure and harmonium, together with enchanting, harmonised lyrics, make for a captivating, at times an Americana/country-tinged, listening experience.

Nature, and the natural world, specifically the beauty of Autumn, is the inspiration for Freya’s composition, I Make A Nest, a sublimely exquisite offering which is also a call to reflect upon acting with diligence with regards to protecting the world in which we live, whilst simultaneously yearning for a return to a more measured, unhurried and less complex way of life.

A further theme occurring on the album is a reflection on aspects of human needs and pleasures, be that with David’s Every Creature Is A Book, a song concerned with the desire to reconnect with the inner creature, Freya’s Lights, addressing the complexities of both physical and metaphysical aspects of the body and allied human interaction, or the delightful poem Anam Cara, which addresses the internal conflict between body and soul prior to a river swim, an entirely apt title given that the phrase is an anglicisation of anamchara, the Celtic concept of the “soul friend”.

The two final tracks on the album continue this Celtic thread. Firstly Shelter, a song influenced by the poetry of John O’Donohue, (who, coincidentally popularised the above-mentioned term Anam Cara with his 1987 book of the same name), with its intriguing shifts in tempo, is almost anthemic, with the closing harmonies celestial in their impact.

In many senses, however, it is the final track which leaves one of the most indelible memories. The version of Black Is The Colour, the popular Celtic Ballad collected by Cecil Sharp, (notwithstanding any potential dispute as to its Appalachian heritage), is delivered here with breathtaking beauty, Freya’s crystal clear delivery being nothing short of sublime.

To return to John O’Donohue, he spoke of the urge for a poet to seek originality “to write the poem that has not yet been written … the poet must reach deeper inward; go deeper than the private hoard of voices down to the root-voice.” With a simple substitution of the words song and songwriter for poet and poem it is clear that on this album such creative depths have indeed been trawled, with a resultant intriguing release of great originality, and enjoyment.

The Beacon does indeed provide a light which should attract great interest and garner serious attention. Dare I suggest, somewhat tongue in cheek, that, on the evidence of this release, Harbottle & Jonas are one of the finest folk trios in the country.