Their latest E.P. release, Clear Purling Stream (self released), further demonstrates that Na-Mara are amongst the finest and most sympathetic purveyors of traditional music.
Formed in 2006 and based in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, the duo comprises Rob Garcia (guitar, mandolin, mandola, classical guitar and vocals), born in London of Spanish descent, his father being a child refugee from the 1937 Guernica bombing, and Paul McNamara (vocals, guitars) born in Middlesborough, where there must be something in the Teesside water to have also spawned Vin Garbutt, Megson, Graham Miles, The Wilson Family and The Young‘uns.
In addition to their own, often pithy, compositions on both contemporary and historical topics, previous releases have also included British traditional songs alongside translations of songs from the Breton, French and Quebecois traditions and their arrangements of traditional tunes from Brittany, France and the Spanish Celtic regions of Asturias and Galicia. Of the four tracks presented on Clear Purling Stream, three are from the traditional British, Canadian and Irish canons, whilst the fourth is a self-composed song which sits firmly within the social commentary spectrum.
The opening track, Nancy From London, a traditional song from England and Canada, provides the release’s title in its first line, a purling stream referring to the motion of a small stream amongst obstructions, to flow with a gentle curling or rippling movement and a murmuring sound. A wistful lament about the travails of a sailor’s life and the fears and uncertainties of their loved ones left on the shore awaiting their return, the duo first heard this song on Horizon Lines, the 2017 album from Canadian Matthew Byrne. The ever-informative Mainly Norfolk website states that this version is based upon a song collected in 1905 by Henry Hammond from Mr Joseph Elliott of Tober in Dorset.
The song is a variant of Pretty Nancy of Yarmouth, a version of which was, coincidentally, collected in Middlesborough and performed by The Young Tradition in 1966 on their eponymous debut album and also, I note, on my copy of the 1969 Topic Records Sampler TRA SAM 13. On Na-Mara’s gentle, slow and mournful interpretation of the song presented here, never has the phrase less is more been so appropriate, as they wring the plaintive emotions from each and every word and phrase over delicately picked acoustic notes.
Females dressing as males to enlist in the navy or army is a recurring theme in many traditional songs, many of which are based on historically accurate facts. The version of When I Was a Fair Maid (sometimes also given the title When I Was A Fair Maid/Run The Riggin’ Again) offered here is taken from the singing of famous Irish harpsichordist and singer Tríona Ní Dhomnaill (Bothy Band) from her self-titled album of 1975. Unlike the Jackie Oates version from her 2022 Gracious Wings album, which places the protagonist as a drummer boy in the army, Paul and Rob’s version sees our heroine as a sailor, eventually betrayed by a colleague to her ship’s Captain. A bright, more up-tempo track with a wonderful mandolin introduction, the duo’s undoubted abilities shine both musically and vocally.
The traditional County Derry ballad, The Verdant Braes of Screen (Roud 419), of which P Stands For Paddy, made famous by Planxty is a variant, has been in Na-Mara’s repertoire for many years but hitherto unrecorded. The gentle, lilting melody perfectly reflects both the pastoral setting and the young maid’s musings suggested by the lyrics. Na-Mara’s interpretation is a more than worthy addition to the illustrious list of artists who have also recorded this beautiful song.
The final track is one of the duo’s compositions and one which returns to a motif which has been featured in their work in the past, namely pirates. With Avery and the Merchants of Bristol, they told the tale of the renowned sea pirate who got his comeuppance at the hands of Bristol merchants, whilst in Navajos & Pirates, the pirates referred to are the Edelweiss Pirates, young men and women in Germany who courageously stood up against Nazism in the late 1930s and following war years. Pirates Dressed in Pinstripes, however, relates to a totally different category of pirate. The song illuminates those using London to launder dirty money and the nefarious, unscrupulous professionals who profit handsomely from facilitating the process.
A compelling composition, both lyrically and musically, Pirates In Pinstripes presents an impeccable example of how effective and forceful political/social comment can be made without the need to revert to overt ranting or proselytizing,
No guilt, no shame, no questions, their salaries obscene
Pirates dressed in pinstripes, wash that money clean.
…School fees for the children, make dynasties to last
So a nouveau riche of mobsters can join hoodlums from our past
Clear Purling Stream is an album which further enhances Na-Mara’s reputation for composing, interpreting and delivering music of the highest standard. Rob’s musicianship and Paul’s rich, resonant vocals represent what is best in contemporary folk/roots music.
Website: http://www.na-mara.com/