Katherine Priddy – The Eternal Rocks Beneath
Navigator Records – 25 June 2021
To listen to The Eternal Rocks Beneath is to sink into a reverie. Elemental and evocative, the much-anticipated debut from Katherine Priddy finds the Birmingham-based singer/songwriter putting a contemporary spin on the mythological. With a voice like the water that swells from a mountain spring, the eddying grace of Priddy’s tone echoes that of Celtic & British folk greats. In fact, during single Indigo, we even hear shades of Enya, the lilting chorus melody reminiscent of Howard Shore’s The Council of Elrond (which will no doubt delight both Trad and Tolkien fans alike). However, do not take her for some conjurer of cheap tricks; a wholly unique talent, this sense of fantasy Priddy channels is no mere throwaway. Inspired by Brontë and Greek legend, her knack for storytelling and otherworldly atmospherics give this set of originals an epic feel. And what’s any well-spun yarn without a bit of conflict?
After the spring of 2020, artists had to re-evaluate everything. Release schedules, tours, connecting with audiences; it would all have to be done differently. Riding on the success of 2018’s EP Wolf, 2019 had been something of a breakout year for Priddy. After impressing Richard Thompson so much he invited her on tour, she racked up repeat-plays from various radio mainstays and turned heads at Towersey Folk Festival, Shambala and Cambridge Folk Festival. The latter awarded Priddy the Christian Raphael Prize granted each year to one promising artist, offering significant industry backing. With support from the English Folk Expo’s mentoring scheme as well, the turn of the decade held a lot of promise, with multiple dates, an album release and a Glasto performance planned.
But Priddy rolled with the punches. She became a livestream staple, reaching far-flung viewers as part of the Philadelphia Folk Festival bill and teamed up with several online contemporaries (one being Ciaran Algar, whose collabs were a lifesaver for many dejected gig-goers over lockdown). I first became aware of Priddy through her sublime tribute to Nick Drake, when she covered Northern Sky and River Man alongside Lukas Drinkwater, Jon Wilks & Jon Nice. Citing Drake as one of her biggest influences (she grew up in Alvechurch, just down the road from his home and resting place in Tanworth-in-Arden) Priddy’s faithful and heartfelt renditions displayed all the nuance and introspective intrigue he was famed for. Her bio also namechecks John Martyn and Jeff Buckley, again unsurprising considering her balletic vocal ability and bent for tender, lush arrangements.
Featuring an equally impressive cast of musicians, The Eternal Rocks Beneath was recorded over a two year stretch at Rebellious Jukebox studios, with Simon Weaver doing a stellar job on drums, percussion and production duties. Opener Indigo hints at the brace of harmonies and rich textural spreads still yet to come. Sounding as though it might come from the same genus as Priddy’s The Old Tree, the trill of birdsong eases us into this nostalgic ode to childhood and the passing of time. Priddy recently shared her thoughts on why these themes seem so prevalent: “(It’s) a reflection on the other transient elements of childhood… something I think the album as a whole touches on a lot. I suppose that makes sense, seeing as this album contains so many of the early songs I wrote during my teens.”
Even before she pursued her love of literature at the University of Sussex, Priddy’s command of language and songcraft appear to have been remarkably well rounded. Take the couplet “A breath-cloud on a window, a shadow on the lawn / Or a leaf on the breeze and a star in the dawn” for example, or the insight, “Your troubles are old for a body so young,” recalling Buckley and Neil Young’s musings on adolescence. There’s an exactitude to her writing; not one word is out of place. On the tear-stained The Spring Never Came, she laments, “I’ve lost all my eloquence in verse” which seems hard to believe. When penning songs, Priddy aspires to the idea that her lyrics should be strong enough to stand alone without musical accompaniment. And it shows. The Eternal Rocks Beneath often feels as if it should be leather-bound or boast the Penguin logo along the spine.
If you were to decamp the First Aid Kit sisters onto the Yorkshire Moors, you still probably wouldn’t end up with something as quietly captivating as Wolf. Inspired by Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights don’t expect any Kate Bush theatrics here, just a subtle blend of Americana and English folk, gorgeously rendered and understated. As Ciaran Clifford’s tin whistle cuts through this warm soundbed of strings, you find yourself thinking all these period dramas would be wise to commission Priddy next time they’re in need of a composition that suggests ‘rugged, untamed landscape’. If the forecast was to be particularly threatening, Ring O’Roses could serve the same purpose. While some folklorists, such as Steve Roud, deny claims that the original nursery rhyme has plague origins, Priddy’s take mines those bleaker depths, ascribing to Kathryn Tickell’s school of pick-a-children’s-song-and-turn-it-sour. You could skip to it, but you’d be on your own, as haunting backing vocals sing of the fallen.
Shadows seem to stalk these songs. In The Spring Never Came, ‘Shadow-boy’ is the cause of Priddy’s woe. Whereas, on standout Eurydice, with its manic cross chatter and reversed guitar line intro, we find Orpheus chronicling his journey, “To the wilds of this wasteland, where blindly I blunder / Shatter the silence rolling through me like thunder,” before Priddy’s last stanza issues that devastating hammer blow, “And first light of morning, a moment of still / A comma, a dash, a loaded ellipsis ‘til / You sink under slowly, I knew you were only / A shadow behind me / I loved you blindly.” On Eurydice, Icarus & About Rosie, Priddy marries the cutting, autobiographical confessionals that you might expect from a contemporary singer/songwriter, with narratives that feel time-honoured and traditional. These tracks mirror the compromise, confusion and ecstasy that sometimes comes with being in love, yet they remain buoyant, no matter how solemn the situation gets. Take the curiously hopeful, closing note of About Rosie for example: “The only prison’s the body you’re born in / Everything’s subject to change without warning.”
Much of the record’s magic also owes thanks to the outstanding playing throughout. Priddy’s fingerpicking on The Isle of Eigg gently cradles the melody, hammering on in delicate harmony, before Mikey Kenny joins on fiddle, a flurry of notes catching the last of the sun on this stirring Celtic air. Elsewhere, Letters from a Travelling Man provides a welcome change of pace, Richard March (of Pop Will Eat Itself) on swinging double bass, Michael King on banjo and Dan Green on Bodhran, propelling this barnstorming adieu forward, everything hanging on Priddy’s measured lead.
Then, harmonics ripple on the slow drawn refrain of The Summer Has Flown, as Priddy’s lingering goodbye fades. But the impression remains. Discussing the inclusion of her earliest songs here, Priddy revealed her reasoning behind the title: “It’s almost a way of packaging up this chapter of my life and drawing a line beneath it. The eternal rocks beneath – the foundations of what has been and the bedrock for whatever follows next.” Well, foundations rarely come stronger than this. A debut of true substance, it’s like searching for a simple shelter and stumbling upon a diamond mine.
Pre-Order/Save The Eternal Rocks Beneath. Out 25 June on Navigator Records: https://smarturl.it/katherinepriddy
For more information including upcoming live dates visit: https://www.katherinepriddy.co.uk/
Signed CD Giveaway ‘The Eternal Rocks Beneath‘:
We have five signed copies of Katherine’s debut album to giveaway.
To enter simply email us here: info@klofmag.com. In your email include “Katherine Priddy” in the subject along with your name and address in the body of the message. Last entries by 10 am on Friday 18 June 2021.
*Terms & conditions apply:
- Only one entry per household.
- Five winners will be chosen at random on 18 June 2021.
- The winner will be informed soon thereafter.
- Your information will not be shared with any other parties other than the winner’s address details which will be forwarded to Navigator Records so the Signed CD can be sent to them.
Folk Radio UK’s full terms can be found here.