Spiers & Boden – Fallow Ground
Hudson Records – 17 September 2021
Is it really thirteen years since one of the most thrilling duos on the traditional music scene last released an album of new material – the superb 2008 release Vagabond? Hard to believe but true. Spiers & Boden did release a reworking of their ’greatest hits’ titled The Works in 2011, which featured such folk luminaries as Martin and Eliza Carthy, Andy Cutting, Maddy Prior and Martin Simpson. While it has been a long wait for new material, it has been worth it as they make a triumphant return with the sublime and highly anticipated Fallow Ground.
The album opens with ‘Bluey Brink,’ a blistering Australian folk song learnt from the repertoire of Peter Bellamy. It tells the heroic tale of the toughest shearer in the Australian outback, the notorious Bluey, who shears five hundred sheep a day and can drink sulphuric acid with no ill effects (except setting his beard on fire when he coughs).
The song, and the album, hit the ground running. It’s a rousing, ambitious and confident opener that harkens back to the energy and verve of ‘Captain Ward’ or even ‘Tom Padget’ both from the aforementioned Vagabond. It’s a perfectly balanced and arranged track, Spiers’ melodeon and Boden’s fiddle sweep, twirl and flirt throughout, and has the immediate feel of a new fan favourite.
‘Butter & Cheese & All’ follows with a playful and frisky vibe. It’s a joyous little adventure, a farce telling the tale of a chancer escaping from an illicit rendezvous by hiding up a chimney, his pockets laden with butter and cheese. It’s a fun song; the word frolic was coined for this track – you can almost see Boden grinning as he sings.
Both opening tracks ensure a perfect introduction to what is a genuinely warm-hearted, exuberant, and life-affirming album. In Fallow Ground’s press release, Boden notes, “I guess we were looking for songs with a sense of fun,” and that an absence of “songs about death” might get the duo banished from the English Folk Dance and Song Society. And it is in that sense of fun, enjoyment and hopefulness that the album originated. For obvious reasons, it’s been a tough time for us all recently, and Fallow Ground provides a very welcome sense of release. It’s always a delight to listen to Spiers & Boden, and on this album, the sheer pleasure of them revelling in playing together is infectiously palpable.
After The Works, this is a stripped-back affair, but frankly, you don’t need much else with two experts. Combining Spiers on melodeon and concertina as well as occasional vocals, and Boden on lead vocals and fiddle, with the occasional stomp added in for good measure, and you have the makings of a thoroughly captivating and fetching treat.
Songs give way to tunes with ‘Cuckoo’s Nest / Saltash / William Irwin’s Modal Hornpipe’ highlighting their musicianship. The set may be familiar to those who took part in Spiers’ inspiring Isolation Sessions over lockdown. It’s a fine set of dance tunes; the soft sweetness of ‘Saltash’ bubbles up nicely for a fiery hornpipe, all sourced from Oxfordshire, Cornwall and Lakeland, celebrating the best traditions of English folk.
The sprightly set of tunes is swiftly followed by ‘The Fog,’ a self-penned tune by Spiers. It’s a more reflective, contemplative tune, perfect for autumn nights.
‘The Mallard / Valentine / The Procession’ is a fine collection of Morris tunes and jigs, whilst ‘Goddess / Red House,’ both from Playford’s Dancing Master (1651), is another vigorous set, a touch darker and grittier than the elegance of ‘The Mallard’.
‘Funney Eye / Cheshire Hornpipe’ is another set to savour. The first tune comes from the 19th century manuscript of William Henry Giles. Unfinished, it has been sensitively completed in the 21st century by Spiers.
The title track came to the duo from the singing of Louis Killen via its alternative title ‘The Cock.’ It’s an unusual song in the traditional folk repertoire, a love song with no moral, betrayal or abandonment; in fact, it’s fundamentally a song about the thrill of love and even has a happy conclusion. It’s a beautifully romantic song, tenderly and sweetly performed by the duo.
‘Reynardine’ is given the Spiers & Boden touch with a moody interpretation which removes the theatrics other performers can be guilty of. The duo return the song to the purity of its cautionary tale – the warning of this most mysterious fox-like outlaw and his seductive prowess. The sense of trepidation is threatened to atmospheric effect through Boden’s piercing fiddle.
Fallow Ground concludes with two self-penned tunes, ‘Bailey Hill / Wittenham Clumps.’ Both locations have a connection to Spiers & Boden, ensuring the album ends on a very personal note for the duo. The tunes provide a lively, energetic climax, Boden and Spiers bouncing off each other as they dip and sway. It’s a fine conclusion, leaving listeners ravenous for more. ‘Wittenham Clumps’ also features Spiers’ one-row-four-stop melodeon in D, a star in its own right!
Spiers & Boden have always had a talent for considered, stimulating and thoroughly fresh arrangements, and despite the time apart, this has certainly not wavered. Traditional songs and tunes are given the characteristic Spiers & Boden touch, ensuring a juiciness to some familiar favourites and a sense of timelessness to new favourites. The album’s thirteen tracks (thirteen years since Vagabond and thirteen tracks on Fallow Ground, one for every year the ground has laid unsown, perhaps?) range from Morris tunes, jigs, folk songs, hornpipes, waltzes and a few self-penned slices of magic too. With sprinkles of Australian, Scottish ballads, French-Canadian melodies but with a focus on the very best of the English folk music tradition, it’s hard not to be beguiled by Fallow Ground.
At the album’s heart, though, is the utter joy of two friends making music together. Throughout, Spiers’ melodeon and Boden’s fiddle dance with delight. It is a rare indulgence to hear new songs and tunes from Spiers and Boden and to join them as they revel in the pleasure of their duet. Fallow Ground is a joyful, exciting, and beautifully produced release. It’s great to have them back.
Spiers and Boden’s Fallow Ground is released by Hudson Records on 17th September 2021, with a return to live touring from 5th September – 26th October 2021.
Spiers & Boden Fallow Ground Tour 2021
With Special Guest except* Lady Nade
SEPTEMBER
Sunday, September 5 – Gate to Southwell Festival
Tuesday, September 28 – St David’s Hall, Cardiff
Wednesday, September 29 – Mwldan, Cardigan
Thursday, September 30 – Redgrave Theatre, Bristol
OCTOBER
Friday, October 1 – The Regal, Tenbury Wells
Saturday, October 2 – Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham
Sunday, October 3 – Exeter Phoenix, Exeter
Monday, October 4 – Cheese & Grain, Frome
Tuesday, October 5 – Komedia, Brighton
Wednesday, October 6 – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
Friday, October 8 – Revelation, Ashford
Saturday, October 9 @ 11:00AM – The Spiers & Boden Festival (Full Day), Cecil Sharp House, London
Sunday, October 10 – Chipping Norton Theatre, Chipping Norton
Monday, October 11 – Nettlebed Village Club, Nr Henley on Thames
Tuesday, October 12 – The Corn Hall, Diss
Saturday, October 16 – Hartlepool Folk Festival, Hartlepool*
Monday, October 18 – Colchester Arts Centre, Colchester
Tuesday, October 19 – Cambridge Junction, Cambridge
Wednesday, October 20 – Pocklington Arts Centre, Pocklington
Thursday, October 21 – Manchester Folk Festival, Manchester
Friday, October 22 – The Live Room, Saltaire
Sunday, October 24 – Music Room, Liverpool Philharmonic (Matinee & Evening Show)
Monday, October 25 – Rheolwr Neuadd Ogwen, Bethesda, Bangor
Tuesday, October 26 – Canolfan Y Celfyddydau, Aberystwyth
Pre-Order Fallow Ground via Hudson Records: https://hudsonrecords.co.uk/product/spiers-boden-fallow-ground
Ticket links and more information via https://spiersandboden.com/
Spiers & Boden are our Artists of the Month. Keep an eye out for our forthcoming interview.
Photo Credit: Elly Lucas