Kitty Jay - Seth Lakeman > Reviews > The new voice and face of folk music

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it rate alongside the competition	Good
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	A distinct and aggressive folk album
Disadvantages:	A few too many songs in a 12/8 time signature !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Seth Lakeman was recently nominated for a Mercury Music Prize for this, his second solo release. Although he didn't win, I wouldn't have looked at this album if it wasn't for his breathtaking performance at the awards ceremony.

The album cost just £200 to make - some of which went on buying curries as a "thank you" to his musician mates who played on the album - and carries an earthy, aggressive atmosphere throughout.

Based on the folklore stories of his native Dartmoor the album is a meloncholic and brooding musical construction that, if I lived on Dartmoor, would keep me awake at night with fear. However, there are softer and more uplifting tracks finely placed throughout the 12 tracks on the album, and this means the album won't leave you hoping for a swift death.

The syncopated clapping rhythms of the traditional song "John Lomas" open the album, which focusses on the attempts of the character's mistress to murder him whilst asleep. Instrumentation is simple with just clapping and a couple of guitars. The calmer chorus features a tender violin weepign over the descending chords, before bursting back into the aggressive clapping beat.

Track 2, The Bold Knight, again tells a story of death. This time, a beatiful maid finds the knight, dying, on the moor and cares for his interment. Strong vocal harmonies come to the fore in the chorus, backed by a droning violin playing simple but effective arpeggios. A brushed drumkit and popping acoustic bass complete the minimal accompaniment, but set the scene for later tracks.

Ironically, Fight For Favour, one of the most violent titles on the album, is one of the most tender and beautiful. In this third track Lakeman's tightly controlled voice sweeps over the simple instrumentation, whispering and pining for lost love.

The title track of the album, Kitty Jay, bursts through at track 4. Another brooding song of young death, this song stands out as the album's finest track. Lyrically, the rhymes and sounds flow over the music. Backed only by a set of multi-layered solo violin arpeggios, the starkness adds to the aggression with which the story is told.

Turning to a more "traditional" folk sound, Farewell My Love features all the tell-tale signals of English traditional music. Droning accompaniment from the solo violin harks to the soundtrack of Braveheart (which is strange as this is set in Dorset whereas Bravehaeart was Scotland), but certainly conjures images of the hostile moors and emptiness of lost love.

This time with a full band, and sounding alt-country in its instrumentation and structure, Blood Upon Copper's steady time-signature signifies the toil of working in a South-West copper mine. The hope in the chorus is surprisng, in my opinion, as the verse lyrics speak of suffocation and pain:

"Working in the darkness day by day,
With nothin` but the dreams to light my way."

Returning to telling the story of a character, Henry Clarke, track 7 is the first time that you really begin to realise Lakeman's reliance on a chugging 12/8 time signature. Although it is tempting to class the rhythm and minor chord sequences as monotonous, this allows the lyrics to come to the fore. Indeed, it's difficult to criticise this in terms of folk music, as the lyrics should really be the focus. However, I feel that as the Mercury Music Prize "commercialised" this release, it's a valid point to be made. To give Lakeman hsi due, though, this is the second of the four traditional songs on the album, so it's worth noting that his own writing isn't permanently reliant on this rhythm.

Reminiscent of early Dave Matthews Band, The Storm's simplistically complex bass line drives this track forward. The guitars continue to chug along, and it's hard not to miss Lakeman's beautiful violin and viola accompaniments.

As if reading my mind, though, Cape Clear's haunting instrumental violin reminds us of the brooding undercurrent of this album. Contrasting with the steady rhythm of The Storm, one can imagine the aftermath of the previous track's event as the violin and viola soar over a deep synthesiser drone.

The Ballad of Josie lifts the atmosphere as Lakeman, accompanied once again by just a couple of guitars, sings of young lovers' secret rendez-vous. Although the story again ends with a lead character's death, the listener is left feeling uplifted as the jangling melody of traditional song, The Streamers, heralds the end of the album.

What better line to close the album than, "But the angels might direct us wherever we should go."

If I were you, I'd see that the angels are directing you to click "buy" on this album. Although classed as folk, Kitty Jay is an album of contradictions. There's even something of a feeling of punk in the aggression and starkness of some of the arrangements, whereas the lyrics sound more like poetry. Indeed, reading the lyrics from the beautifully decorated inlay card, you could almost convince yourself that you've bought an anthology rather than an album.

Backed by an incredibly talented collection of young musicians, Seth Lakeman's album shows off his talents well. Whether or not it would have benefitted from a wider variation of time signatures is certainly a matter of opinion, but as an album that delivers strong instrumentation and lyrical pictures, this is a prime example.