I fell in love with Seth Lakeman at Glastonbury 2007, where I first came across his music and went to see him more than once. My most vivid memory is of a solo performance at a very muddy Glade. I was really impressed by the folk rave vibes of his songs 'Kitty Jay' and 'Lady Of The Sea'. I was less enamoured with the somewhat slicker sound on Seth's subsequent releases, but have admired him from distance over recent years.
These days Seth comes up with a novel idea for each record. 'Tales Of The Barrel House' was recorded in a copper mine and a barrelhouse and was a homage to various craftsmen, whereas 'Word Of Mouth' was a concept album of musical biographies based on interviews Seth conducted with locals from Devon and Cornwall.
'Ballads Of The Broken Few' features female vocal trio Wildwood Kin. Fear not, this is not one of those unwelcome pairings whereby backing vocalists on every track outstay their welcome. The girls do appear on every track, but their voices are a wonderful addition to Seth's own very distinctive but somewhat limited voice (this is not a criticism; you sing with the voice that you have). The resulting sound reminds me at times of the 'O Brother Where Art Thou' soundtrack and the backing vocals are also reminiscent of those on Van Morrison's records from the 80s. The collaboration works wonderfully well and has resulted in Seth's most surprising album since 'Kitty Jay'.
Instrumentation is sparse on this record, which was produced by Ethan Johns, whose production credits include Ryan Adams' 'Gold' and Tift Merritt's 'Bramble Rose'. Johns apparently agreed to the job after hearing one rough demo that Seth recorded on his phone of him singing with the girls. There is no conventional band set up. Some songs have little more than vocals and fiddle. When the electric guitar does make an appearance, on the title track, it is all the more powerful for it.
Recorded live in the hall of a Jacobean manor house, the album contains self-penned material as well as traditional ballads. Lyrically there are quite a few songs about hanging out in nature. Protagonists go down into the woods, down to the waters, wander, ramble, drift, they watch falcons fly, rivers roll on. Mortality is the subject of several tracks. 'Silver Threads' is particularly lovely. The singer addresses his darling, laments that time goes so fast and is thankful for every day that is granted to the two of them.
'Meet Me In The Twilight' has already been released to radio and is indeed one of the standout songs. 'Anna Lee' has previously been recorded, in a very similar way, by Levon Helm. 'Pulling Hard Against The Stream' has the potential to become a live favourite. I can well imagine it being performed towards the end of a show, with the audience bellowing along, should they get to know the song well enough. Mortality returns in the final song, 'Bury Me Deep'. Sung a cappella, the singer discusses how he wants to be buried when the time comes.
Sometimes Gothic, sometimes melancholic, this is beautiful music and Seth is to be applauded for going into a new musical direction once again. Another Mercury nomination would be well deserved.
Helen
9/11
A couple of live session videos have made their way out into the world so far:
Ballad Of The Broken Few – Watch HERE
Meet Me In The Twilight – Watch HERE
The new album is released 16th September, 2016 via Cooking Vinyl
