Bailey and Keely: Atthomis

First published in the October-November 2024 edition of Folk London Magazine

Saul Bailey (concertina and melodeon) and Mitch Keely (fiddle and organ) met at the monthly

English sessions at the Half Moon Pub in Oxford, and we’re all the better for it.

Given the squeezebox + fiddle instrumentation, the obvious comparison is Spiers and Boden,

so we may as well get that out of the way. I don’t think it’s necessarily an unfair comparison -

young duo with unbelievable musical chemistry coming out of nowhere with a banger of a debut

featuring playful, bordering on irreverent, arrangements - but there’s more than enough here for

Bailey and Keely to stand on their own.

They don’t sound like Spiers and Boden, for one thing, instrumentation notwithstanding. They’ve

found their own groove and run beautifully in it, occasionally bouncing over the edge for a

moment just to keep you on your toes. Plenty from Playford here - Woodicock, The Wheelwright

(The King of Poland), Parson Upon Page (Parson Upon Dorothy) - lovingly jigged around and

folk-processed about, along with some cracking original tunes and a handful of stunning

improvisational interludes.

If anything, this album reminds me (at least spiritually) of Sam Sweeney’s gorgeous Escape

That from a few years ago. There’s a similar sort of energy, a folk-y willingness to play with style

and theme and form and create something entirely new but still familiar.

"Bailey and Keely run unapologetically toward the dark and the grotty," their website reads, "but

never at the risk of seriousness.” Dunno about that. This is certainly a serious debut, cheers

lads.

Atthomis is out now, available on Bandcamp:

SOPHIE SCHLEICHER