Sing Yonder 2

NEW SING YONDER NEW SING YONDER NEW SING-

It’s no secret that I absolutely love the Sing Yonder project. What Karl has done with it is simply magical – accessible folk song contained in beautiful little art books, delicately arranged to provide just enough information to not be overwhelming, witty and gentle and made with such obvious love that it jumps off the page.

Sing Yonder is a triumph.

Add to it now not one but two (2!!!) albums recorded by some of the loveliest folks in folk and Christmas is coming in April this year.

Karl very kindly sent me an advanced copy of vol. 2, and I’ve been listening to nothing else for days. As with the first album, the diversity of approach really sets off the wonderful strangeness of traditional folk song. Each track here is very different from its neighbors on either side, but I’m struck once again by how easily they all work as a cohesive whole. It’s a fantastic mix. Each of the artists here have done something rather special and it’s a joy to hear them all back to back.

While there are a few names here I know well - I always enjoy Matt Quinn and his squeezeboxes (and his most excellent podcast), and Bity Booker has (blessedly) been on my radar since I reviewed her EP Dreaming in the Morning. I also adore Cooper and Toller, here as a bonus track but here nonetheless! - there are even more that I don't know (̶o̶r̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶l̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶h̶a̶l̶f̶ ̶h̶a̶l̶f̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶- I'll see myself out).

Entirely new to me are Satnam Galsian (stunning) and Harp and a Monkey (also stunning – I could listen to Martin Purdy for days). The Wilderness Yet has missed me entirely up to now, too (frankly astonishing), where Lazlo Baby and Cath and Phil are sort of in that vague place of “fairly sure I’ve heard of them and possibly even heard them, but I am a goldfish in a raging sea and apparently a bit of an absent one at that.”

And while a dear friend keeps passionately (and rightly) singing the praises of Frankie Archer to me at every opportunity, I’m ashamed to say that she’s one of those many brilliant artists that is on the “I Really Should Give That a Listen” list (admittedly nudged up a bit higher by her dark and delightful take on “In Bruton Town” here - the spoken word bits will haunt my dreams for weeks). See also: Lunatraktors and Alice Jones in this category.

In any case, everyone here is utterly delightful and I'm glad they're all here.

Matt’s “Clear Away the Morning Dew” joins Cath and Phil’s “The Demon Lover” and Alice Jones’s “Three Butchers” as the sort of stoically traditional takes – masterfully done, simple folk instrument accompaniments, infinitely re-listenable (it's probably safe to include The Wilderness Yet here as well, with their lovely Watersonian unaccompanied harmonies). I'm especially fond of "Demon Lover" from this list. It is tremendously well served by banjo, and Cath Tyler's voice is perfect here.

Satnam Galsian takes us a step out with her gorgeous Hindustani ornaments, and then things start dancing around weird with Lunatraktors and never quite stop (I could write a dissertation on this take on "Yarrow." It's absolutely sublime. The production? Chef's kiss. The thematic passing of verses between singers? 12/10. The jazz drums?? Inspired. I'm so glad this exists).

I can’t imagine a better person for the job of “The Frog and the Mouse” than Bity Booker. It suits her particular flavor of dark-whimsy so well she could have written it, and I very literally picked up my cat for a dance around the living room to Lazlo Baby’s “False Knight” on the first listen (his opinion was perhaps less favorable than mine in the moment, but I think he’s come round).

Roud 11-20 contain perhaps an unusually high amount of murder, so if that is not to your taste, you might come back for the next one, but you’d be missing out (and for all the murder, we also get a not insignificant amount of Divine Feminine Retribution – tear him all in three, girl, you’ve earned it.),

Sing Yonder 2 releases on April 25th. Go nab a copy - and Sing Yonder 1, and the books while you’re at it! - on Bandcamp: https://karlsinfield.bandcamp.com/album/sing-yonder-2