Gnoss’s ‘Stretching Skyward’ is an exciting and invigorating album. Alongside an intoxicating fusion of instruments, there is a well-earned quiet confidence on show, with a soft, subtle touch of Americana filtering through the band’s more traditional Scottish sound; it’s an innovative, accomplished meld.
Triple Scots Trad Awards nominees Gnoss have long been a force to be reckoned with in the Scottish music scene since bursting into life in 2015. Stretching Skyward, the band’s third release, builds on the success of their second album, The Light of the Moon and reiterates their impressive quartet credentials.
Gnoss have, in a surprisingly short period of time, managed to cultivate their very own sound, and whilst it may have been tempting to deliver much the same here, it is a testament to their desire to stretch, develop, and challenge themselves that they moved outside of their comfort zone by tackling a more contemporary sound. It’s hard to believe they have only been playing together for eight years; their tunes, song writing, and musicianship have already become so accomplished and layered.
It’s a clever mix of musicianship which make up Gnoss, with founders Orcadian Aidan Moodie on vocals and acoustic guitar, and fellow Orcadian Graham Rorie on fiddle and mandolin. Added to this are Perthshire’s Connor Sinclair on flute and whistles, Clackmannanshire’s Craig Baxter on bodhran and percussion, whilst Breabach’s James Lindsay guests with some electric and double bass. With musical tastes and influences sourced from almost all corners of Scotland, it is a testament to the band’s core identity that they retain a strong sense of their Orkney origins – looking back to the history of their isles and to the wider influence beyond.
Stretching Skyward, their first post-lockdown album, is something of a self-proclaimed concept album, with songs inspired by Scottish folk tales, the passage of time, and an emergence into a new world post-Covid. It’s an album of eleven tracks, with six tunes and five songs (comprising of four original songs by Moodie and one cover) and opens with the rather awesome ‘Stroma’ named after an island off the coast of Caithness. An abandoned, haunted, eerie island, they provide an energetic, atmospheric soundtrack to this forgotten world – a realm spoken of in The Orkneyinga Saga. It’s a fiery whistle-led tune with a stomping, dance rhythm which perfectly introduces listeners to an exciting and invigorating album.
The following ‘Hamnavoe’ (Old Norse for ‘safe harbour’) takes listeners in a more subdued direction, reflecting Moodie’s fondness for Orkney’s history; it’s a touching, warm, and somewhat romantic song. ‘The Drovers’ provides an equally tender theme, taking the narrative of the Drovers who transported cattle across the country as its subject. Once the cattle boom ended, many drovers moved to America, the ancestors of the Wilde West Cowboy. The tune touches on this with a sense of lament but also hope in the swirls and dips of Sinclair’s flute.
‘Keefa Hill’ is a similarly cattle-inspired tune. Rorie’s energetic, guitar-led melody is guaranteed to get the toes tapping. Inspired by a herd of cattle left on the deserted isle of Swona in the 1970s, the tune is a celebration of resilience, strength, and perseverance. The cattle have continued to survive on the isle, almost untouched by man’s interference.
The final tunes on the album, ‘Audrey’s‘ and ‘Vore Tullye’, are proof of the band’s accomplished tight grouping, especially with ‘Vore Tullye’. Taking as its inspiration the mythical creature in the folklore of the Northern Isles, the subject provides a playful, teasing influence for a track which bounces between gutsy fiddle and rocky electric guitar.
Tunes may populate Stretching Skyward, but Moodie continues to establish himself as a talented songwriter and vocalist on some key tracks. ‘God’s Land’ feels more akin to a traditional folk song and tells the tragic story of the shipwreck of the slave ship The Crown of London in 1679. It’s a heartbreaking narrative sensitively sung by Moodie. ‘Honey Wine’ is also a gorgeously constructed song; inspired by the story of Scottish travellers known as the Nawken; it is an unapologetic, inspirational, and somewhat funky folk tune with a catchy chorus and a crafty mix of traditional and modern sounds.
Like the story of ‘Drovers’, ‘Dirt & Bone’ looks towards America, inspired by Mike Brodie’s photographs. As the band explain, Brodie spent his youthful years hopping on freight trains across the States, taking photographs as he did so. It’s a dreamy, country-inspired tune about movement, the myth of the America West, and the desire to see a new world.
Closer ‘Hard Times’ is a rather special Gillian Welch cover. It’s a beautiful translation, focusing initially on Moodie’s vocals and guitar accompaniment. A song about hope, defiance, and drive, it’s a perfect conclusion to an eclectic, ambitious, but thoroughly engaging concept album. Moodie’s softly spoken vocals, warm and sweet, are an ideal deliverer of Welch’s words.
Throughout Stretching Skyward, the blending of flute, mandolin, guitar, and percussion provide an intoxicating fusion. The quartet are such a tight group; there is a confidence and trust in each other’s playing, which ensures listeners are treated to a finely curated collection of melodies. There is also a splendid synthesis of sounds here, from reflective tunes to more toe-tapping arrangements, from folk to rock; Gnoss know how to lead their listeners on a journey. Breathing new life into the idea of a concept album, they do something which is surprisingly fresh and thoroughly welcome here.
Superbly produced by Skerryvore piper Scott Wood at Bishopbriggs’ Oak Ridge Studios and mastered by Nick Cooke, Stretching Skyward beautifully displays the band’s development with a fine layering of traditional sounds and modern touches. Gnoss are a band that wears their sublime musicianship lightly. There is a well-earned quiet confidence on show here, with a soft, subtle touch of Americana filtering through the band’s more traditional Scottish sound. It’s an innovative and accomplished meld.
Pre-save / pre-order Stretching Skyward: https://absil.one/stretchingskyward.owe
Gnoss Tour Dates
BARBADOS CELTIC FESTIVAL — 18th to 21st May
ORKNEY FOLK FESTIVAL — 25th to 28th May
SHEFFIELD / The Greystones – 10th June
EVESHAM / The Fleece Inn – 15th June
LONDON / The Green Note – 17th June
FOLK AT THE FROIZE – 18th June
ABERDEEN / The Blue Lamp – 23rd June
COMRIE / The White Church – 24th June
GLASGOW / Cottiers Theatre – 25th June
CRAIL FOLK CLUB – 13th July
CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL – 27th July
FRESH AYR FOLK FESTIVAL – 11th August
TOWERSEY FESTIVAL – 24th August
TÖNDER FESTIVAL (DE) – 25th to 27th August
Ticket links and more can be found here: https://linktr.ee/gnossmusic