Much of the Melrose Quartet’s previous work has been characterised by a combination of playful, off-the-cuff recordings and a deeply felt spirit of collaboration. 2017’s Dominion had a loose, almost unrehearsed feel to it that made for a fresh and invigorating listen, while their more recent Christmas album (The Rudolph Variations, from 2019) provided a perfect reflection of the comfort and joy of the yuletide season. Make The World Anew is a slightly different prospect: for the first time, the band allowed themselves the luxury of a lengthy and dedicated recording session and utilised the help of producer and engineer Pete Ord. The resulting album achieves the distinction of being perhaps their most polished collection of songs to date without ever feeling over-produced or sanitised.
The Quartet consists of two married couples: Jess and Richard Arrowsmith, who provide fiddle and melodeon, respectively, and Nancy Kerr and James Fagan. Kerr plays fiddle and viola, while Fagan contributes bouzouki and guitar. All four members sing, and their harmonic interplay is a big reason why a Melrose Quartet album sounds so unique. It’s apparent from early on in Make The World Anew’s first song, the a cappella Monmouth Wassail. When the rest of the band joins in with Fagan’s lead, we could almost be in the presence of one of the great vocal groups of the past, The Watersons. But the Melrose Quartet have an energy all of their own. In two brief minutes of unaccompanied singing, we are made aware of a genuine spark, a real liveliness that has its roots in the sheer joy of communal singing. There is something almost primal about a group of people singing together, and the quartet tap into those primal urges with impressive precision.
That sense of joy never diminishes. This is the band’s most upbeat offering to date, and you can almost tell that it was recorded in the spring. It is also their first album since the Covid pandemic, and the freedom to perform together is palpable even on instrumental tracks like Barsebäck/Will To Dance/Gallopede, a selection of dance tunes played with such vigour, verve and lightness you can almost hear the grass growing and the leaves coming into bud. The middle tune of the three was composed by Kerr for Arrowsmiths’ young child and has an antic cheekiness that perfectly fits its subject. While the vocal tracks are celebrations of collaboration and shared experience, the instrumentals are all about the importance of movement and growth.
These philosophies are beautifully synthesised in the title track, written by Jess Arrowsmith. It is a paean to the communal nature of folk music and to the friendships that can be made as a result of this community. At a more basic level, it is also a statement validating the importance of art and of fun in human life. As such, it is the first but not the only song on the album to make a quietly political statement. The Voice That Lives Inside You, a cover of a Leon Rosselson song, says a similar kind of thing but in a more direct way. It’s a beautifully sung hymn to authenticity in a hypocritical, consumerist world. The final unaccompanied section features a breathtaking mesh of vocals.
Hedging Song, with Richard Arrowsmith providing the lead vocal, is adapted from a poem by the Cotswold writer Frank Mansell, and is a spirited defence of a dying craft, with a timely environmental message that transcends the song’s origins and is even more important now than when it was written. On The Scarecrow, they pay tribute to their forebears, The Watersons, with a cover of one of Lal and Mike’s most enduring songs. This version is crisp, sharp and note-perfect, but also manages to convey the inherent weirdness and earthy carnality of Lal Waterson’s original demo. A version of the traditional The Convict’s Lamentation, learned from John Kirkpatrick, is equally impressive, and the well-known Just As The Tide Was Flowing gets a stunning a cappella reworking.
The dance tunes are where we really get to see just how well attuned to each other the group are. Liverpool Hornpipe/James Fagan’s 50th Birthday Hornpipe contains a tune written for Fagan by Jess Arrowsmith as a kind of friendly musical challenge. Fagan plays his part with astonishing adroitness; the chord changes come thick and fast as the piece reaches its satisfying conclusion. General Blakeney’s/The Hunt moves at a steadier pace, and the second tune, in particular, is a showcase for Richard’s melodeon, with Kerr’s sinuous strings weaving around the melody. Nancy and Mary pairs a raucous, flighty Northumbrian reel with a breezy Stan Rogers-penned narrative about the sinking of the Mary Ellen Carter.
Make The World Anew also serves as a timely reminder of Nancy Kerr’s impressive songwriting talents. Her brisk and beautiful Droving Dreams is both poignant and celebratory, a heartfelt song expressing solidarity with people forced to leave their homes. Getting A Rise is a short, blustery account of the digging of the Dartford Tunnel, originally written for Kerr’s solo project Tunnellers. Its catchy melody and chirpy lyrics manage to convey both the difficulties faced by the diggers and their indefatigable spirit.
The album ends with Gabriel’s Baldricks, a tune written by Fagan as a wedding gift for his friends and their new baby. Beginning with a delicate guitar line, it grows into something fuller and more expansive as the rest of the group joins the celebration. In a sense, it is the album in microcosm, not just in its fusion of individual talent and collaborative understanding but also in its exuberance, its willingness to look for joy in every walk of life. The message throughout is one of positivity and optimism, even in the face of hardship, and that is an increasingly rare and important message. Make The World Anew attempts in a small but determined way to achieve the edict set out in its title, and it succeeds resoundingly. It is also The Melrose Quartet’s most upbeat and accomplished album to date.
Order a physical copy here: https://melrosequartet.sumupstore.com
or a digital copy here: https://melrosequartet.bandcamp.com
Upcoming Live Dates
Sun 08 Oct – Hartlepool Folk Festival
Sat 25 Nov – CEILIDH – Sheffield
Fri 01 Dec – Stapleford Granary, Cambs
Sat 02 Dec – A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Harrogate Folk Club
Sun 03 Dec – A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Hexham Queen’s Hall
Fri 15 Dec – A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Bradford Arms Folk Club, Newport
Sat 16 Dec – CEILIDH – Southampton SHOCC
Sun 17 Dec – A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Southampton Turner Sims
Fri 22 Dec – A BRIGHT NEW YEAR – Sheffield, Crookes
More details can be found on their website: https://melrosequartet.co.uk/