Onwards! : 50 years of deathfolk, blues, psychi-fi, trad & world twang
Ian A. Anderson
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Reviews (3)
The observer
d. 31. Mar. 2019
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Neil Spencer
d. 31. Mar. 2019
"Having met on a writing retreat, it is perhaps no surprise that England's Marry Waterson and Australia's Emily Barker found their voices made a harmonious fit. Both women have a history of collaborative projects. That their respective personae also gelled was more unexpected. Waterson, a scion of Yorkshire's Waterson-Carthy dynasty, sings much like her late mother Lal; stoicism and lowering northern skies are never far away. By contrast, Barker has inclined to upbeat Americana ... Together, the pair have cooked up a dozen songs that blend light and dark, helped by the cello parts of producer Adem Ilhan ... It's a surprise to hear Waterson crooning to handclaps and electric guitar on Perfect Needs, a number nudging Fleetwood Mac jauntiness, and to find a folk drone such as Little Hits of Dopamine morph into psychedelia. On Trick of the Light they let naked voices do the work, while elsewhere, vocals are set to crepuscular electronica shot through with Barker's banjo. The songs, alternately reflective and provocative, are short, and the occasional rough edge is lost in a mood of mutual celebration".
Folking.com
d. 7. Apr. 2019
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Mike Davies
d. 7. Apr. 2019
"[Their] first collaborative album (...) [of] songs that push their respective folk boundaries into other fields ... First up comes the pensive (...) people watching title track with its eerie lyrics (...) and sombre bass and cello, the mood immediately upended with the walking beat and handclaps of Richard Thompson meets The Bangles folk rocker "Perfect Needs" ... The hypnotic "Little Hits Of Dopamine" [is] a vaguely Eastern rhythmic chug with clicking percussion, trippy double bass groove and nervy banjo about social media addiction with its "instant gratification" and "one click communication" ... Featuring thumb piano, the heady musical atmosphere continues on the alt-folk "All Is Well", another Eastern snakelike rhythm weaving around traditional folk roots that calls to mind Robert Plant's experiments in melding different folk cultures. The mood and tempo's sustained as Barker takes lead on the late 60s psychedelia-shaded "We Don't Speak Anytime" ... Barker's spooked, plucked banjo provides the bedrock to "I'm Drawn', the harmonies kicking in on the chorus, nimble fingerpicked acoustic taking over on the folksiest number, "Twister" which (...) musically calls to mind the solo work of Linda Thompson or, perhaps more so, daughter Kami, at least until it suddenly takes off into a brief bridge of backward sounds".
fRoots
2019 Summer
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Clare Button
2019 Summer
"Marry's slinky, jazzy alto finds a lighter counterpart in Emily's soulful, poppier sensibility, but both share a wry poetic voice which casts a sideways glance at modern life ... This album is living proof that a collaboration between two well-established voices can produce an entirely fresh sound".