Sairie
The Cinder Sheet
Mulso Primary
23 September 2022
Full marks go to Sairie for not going for the obvious on The Cinder Sheet. I say that because given the quite specific sound that they evoke, that early seventies, very English soft and gentle pagan folk grain, you would bet your record player that they would have covered ‘Willow’s Song’ from the 1973 cult horror movie ‘The Wicker Man’ on this EP, what with it being based around movie themes and all. Sairie are very much drinking from that ‘Wicker Man’ well, their instrumentation is psychedelic without going too near electricity; traditional in spirit without sounding any older than the 1970s, built on the same foundation that Vashti Bunyan (who was recently interviewed here), Trader Horne and many other troubadours from that era. And I say all this not to reduce the luscious music these dreamers are making, far from it, I love that this delicate sound still has a place in the 21st-century arena and that it is purveyed by such exemplary practitioners who are delightfully unpredictable and steadfastly avoiding well-trodden routes.
That quirkiness is immediately evident in the opening take on John Barry’s ‘Born Free’ from the film of the same name. A tune that I am sure is instantly familiar to all adorned with strings and a widescreen western panorama, is stripped bare to a core elemental instrumentation. A drip-drop piano pattern and a pure vocal in which innocence abounds, the song does indeed fly free when released from all previous associations. It is a fine opening salvo on an eight-song set made up entirely of movie themes and music. The idea was conceived in lockdown where Jon Griffin and Emma Morton tried to cheer themselves up by recording a couple of their long-time favourite film themes. The idea quickly expanded into ‘The Cinder Sheet’, and it stands as a superb marking post for the progress this exciting psych-folk band are seeing.
Setting original material to one side, for now, they have shown that their cinema tastes are as eclectic as their musical preferences. There is a brace of numbers from the 1962 French New Wave romantic film ‘Jules Et Jim’, one of which, ‘Le Tourbillon’, features a rare vocal lead from Jon. Everywhere else it is the volant serenading of Emma taking the lead. The deep cinema dive continues with the 1972 post-apocalyptic sci-fi picture ‘Silent Running’, the song of the same name is a highlight of this set with its heavy melancholic feel and finely picked guitar lines. There is also ‘Run Man Run’ from the 1966 spaghetti western ‘The Big Gundown’, some lightly used drums and whispered dialogue adding to the drama. Eyebrows might rise when you see there is also a number from the ‘Bladerunner’ soundtrack. That song, ‘One More Kiss Dear,’ is an unlikely co-write between Peter Skellern and Vangelis; I would argue it works far better as the folk ballad it is presented as here than the 1920’s music hall pastiche rather over-stretched for in the original film. Overall, as anticipation grows for where Sairie can take their open-eared psych-folk vision next, this is a welcome little release.
The Cinder Sheet is out now
Order via: https://bleep.com/release/316353-sairie-the-cinder-sheet