Who'd have thought a rag, in all its cheeky meanderings, could flow so nicely into an English Morris tune?
Dave Delarre, best known for his fret work in the recently disbanded Mawkin:Causley, manages to do just that, infecting 'Princess Royal' with the same virtuoso flourishes and fleet of foot syncopation so keenly found in rags and rarely exhibited in the town square on a boozy feast day.
Blue Beginnings is a mini album comprising predominantly of self-penned tunes. The title track is split into two parts: the first a conversation settling on the contemplative, looking at your reflection in the lake kind of lilt, one that's crying out for an understated, perhaps even abstract, lyrical accompaniment.
The second part is the blues we all know and love - knowledge that the composer has suffered but is moving on with a wry smile and ho-hum brow.
Melancholy is returned to in 'Four Years', a crowded and nightmareish dalliance with the atonal, but peacefully, harmony is restored in the final track, 'Dark Mornings And Bright Nights', and we are granted closure.
Often when an album is hard to define and difficult to pigeonhole, it is of niche interest. But Blue Beginnings is genuinely not necessarily reserved for folk fans and guitar afficianados. Lovers of melody, texture and timbre - regardless of preferred genre - will undoubtedly find a hook, a lick, to their taste.
Sophie Parkes
Credits:
Guitars - Dave Delarre
Drums & electronics - Lee Richardson
Executive producer - Howard Burrell
Producer & Engineer - Lee Richardson
Assistant engineer - Adrian Walker
Design, Photography & Artwork - Chris Pearson
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