Windborne have an almost supernatural grasp of harmony singing, and To Warm the Winter Hearth is an impressive, evocative work of art.
Windborne may be new to many British listeners, but the American vocal harmony group have built up quite a following on their own side of the pond, and their unique brand of folk music – songs from both sides of the Atlantic, arranged in an ostensibly similar fashion to British folk legends the Watersons – seems perfectly poised to make the jump to these shores. A four-piece consisting of Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan, Windborne already have a handful of albums behind them, including 2017 breakthrough Song on the Times – a collection of protest songs – and 2022’s Of Hard Times & Harmony. Despite the traditional nature of their material, the group have succeeded in a way that feels admirably contemporary: embracing social media, engaging communities and using online methods to fund releases (the crowdfunding campaign to get this particular project up and running earned them an eye-watering $400,000, apparently the biggest ever figure for a folk album and the 5th biggest crowdfunded album of all time on any platform).
All that would count for nothing if they didn’t have the tunes to back it up, but even a cursory listen will tell you that they do. More than just singers, the group pride themselves on the depths of their study: if twenty years spent travelling the world and learning about polyphonic music sounds like a lot, you only have to listen to the results to know that it was time well-spent. They approach music-making with a rare combination of care, hard graft and innate ability; their songs sound fresh and ancient all at once. Theirs is the sort of music that feels perfectly suited to a cold winter night spent warm by a log fire with convivial company and a glass of something strong, so it’s no real surprise that Windborne’s latest album is fully locked into the festive period.
To Warm the Winter Hearth is presented as an album and songbook, the implication being one of engagement between listener and creator (paradoxically and refreshingly, Windborne use traditional song to break down traditional boundaries). Before we get on to the music, the songbook itself deserves a word or two. It is a lavish, beautifully designed item, a piece of folk art in itself that comes courtesy of artist Matt Spencer. But it is also highly informative and, if you mean to sing along with these songs (and it’s hard not to), very useful.
The album begins with a nod to old favourites, The Watersons. Their version of Here We Come A-Wassailing always seemed like a song with a twinkle in its eye, and Windborne preserve that twinkle. Immediately, their singing exudes bright warmth and wit and a sense of celebration. Any reservations you might have about an American group tackling that most English of folk oddities, the wassail, are soon dispelled by the group’s infectious enthusiasm and obvious talent, and the song forms a brisk, bright introduction, a real statement of intent. It is one of two traditional English wassails on the album, the other being Malpas Wassail. This was also learned from The Watersons and features a more complex arrangement that showcases the perfect control and timing of the harmony singing (and borrows unexpectedly from Corsican folk music). Perhaps the most ringing endorsement of all comes from the fact that Martin Carthy joined the group to perform a live version as a tribute to Norma Waterson.
Though Windborne have made their name as unaccompanied harmony singers, they are also proficient instrumentalists, adding drums, banjo and guitar to a handful of these pieces. They also enlist the help of Katie McNally on fiddle and Yann Falquet on accordion for a rousing rendition of the 15th century English song The Boar’s Head Carol, which also includes some of the catchiest macaronic Latin you’re ever likely to hear. On The Holy Holly, Lynn Rowan plays the Kanklės, a Lithuanian lap harp which helps bring a dramatic, wintry atmosphere to this new version of The Holly and the Ivy. It’s paired with the unaccompanied Cherry Tree Carol, which on the face of it is more austere but which on repeated listens reveals a frighteningly accomplished intricacy of arrangement.
Windborne’s commitment to songs from cultures outside the English-speaking world is displayed on the Lithuanian carol Aisim Bernai Kalėdaut, a kinetic, percussive song with roots in the country’s pagan heritage. A hand drum gives it a forceful, almost shamanic energy. In the gleeful pair of songs Satan Es Ben Estonat & Lo Paure Satan, the group sing in Occitan, helping to contribute to the revival of a language that was once considered moribund. They seem to have a real nose for a song with an unusual point of view, and these show us the nativity from the perspective of a slightly tragicomic Satan.
One of the few songs on the album with American roots, Come and I Will Sing You, is a fascinating, fast-paced counting song that would make a great alternative for anyone who’s grown tired of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Time To Remember the Poor has been sung in the UK and the US; it is the album’s most sombre moment and is performed with a mournful beauty. It also reminds us that Windborne, like their British forebears The Watersons, are fully committed to social activism. The final verse is the group’s own, and makes no secret of the fact that inequality and poverty have never gone away.
To Warm the Winter Hearth is very much a winter (rather than a Christmas) album, both in terms of lyrical content and in musical atmosphere. As such, the last three songs deal loosely with the midwinter and New Year period. The Derby Ram, a well-known ‘tall-tale’ song, takes delight in the unlikely dimensions of the titular animal. It gallops along on banjo, guitar, jaw harp and Katie McNally’s fiddle while the vocals hint at ribaldry and cheeky provocation: it’s a great example of how the group seem to be able to conjure up any emotional register at will. Welcome In Another Year is wild and celebratory, relishing the pagan power of bonfires and the joy of gathering. The Turning Year closes things out with a resonant unaccompanied vocal performance, which seems more sedate than much of what has gone before, but soars away on a melody that is both nostalgic and hopeful. Like the rest of the album it is delivered with warmth, richness, delicacy and grit, but also incredible technical skill and a very fine ear for detail. Windborne have an almost supernatural grasp of harmony singing, and To Warm the Winter Hearth is an impressive, evocative work of art.
To Warm the Winter Hearth (6th Decemeber 2024) Wand’ring Feet Records
Pre-Order here: https://windborne.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Windborne UK Tour Dates 2025
Barry Arts Festival, January 25
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Bristol Folk House, January 26
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Manchester, Band on the Wall, January 30
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Celtic Connections, February 01
Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices with Windborne & Special Guests
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St Swithin’s Church, Bath, Feb 8
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St Martins In The Field, London, Feb 11
Windborne by Candlelight
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More here: https://www.windbornesingers.com/concerts/