Winter Mountain - I Swear, I Flew

  by Kimberly Bright

published: 8 / 2 / 2017

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Northern Cornwall’s Joe Francis has released a second album as Winter Mountain, 'I Swear I Flew,' this time a solo project rather than a duo with his original collaborator Martin Smyth. When the duo - who met on an overnight train from Chicago to Memphis - released their Americana folk-rock debut EP 'Find, Follow' and self-titled album in 2013, they described their sound to 'More Than Music' as “melodic folksy pop drenched with close harmonies.” That approach still exists on the wistful, introspective 'I Swear I Flew', with Joe capably and beautifully taking over lead vocal responsibilities. He took on all other responsibilities as well, recording the album on his own in his own backyard, in this case Cube Recording in Silverwell, Truro, playing electric, acoustic and bass guitar, mandolin, piano and harmonica as well as singing. Pressed for time and resources, the songs on 'I Swear I Flew' are more stripped-down and less glossily produced than those on the first Winter Mountain album. He told BBC Cornwall’s David White, “It’s been a long time coming. It’s taken me a couple of years to get it all together, but here it is...I knew I had limited time, and I would just record [these songs], and they would represent me at a very visceral acoustic level.” Joe’s influences are clearly classic American (and Canadian) AOR singer-songwriters like Springsteen, Neil Young and Tom Petty, but a few more listens of 'I Swear I Flew' evoke reminders of singer-songwriters Lindsey Buckingham, John Mellencamp, and John Fogerty, as well as Guy Garvey. Like all of these influences, Joe’s songwriting is world-weary but still warm-hearted and earnest, the most notable examples being his delicate acoustic guitar on 'Morning Bell' and 'Dragonfly'. Not surprisingly, thanks to Joe's artistic inspirations and travels through America, he has the mythos down: the meaning of endless highways (probably not the A30) and overflowing rivers, trains, dusk in big sky country, the Badlands, snowstorms leaving six feet of snow, driving with the radio on, and the joys of backseat romance in the summertime. Joe described his approach to 'The Lucky Ones', which could well have been a vintage Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers song: “I wanted to layer up some harmonies. Although there’s no longer two of us singing, I felt that song deserved the full Fleetwood Mac treatment, full production and everything.” 'Sunlight, Good Roads' is, in his words, “a rock and roll take on a Celtic benediction”, most likely the traditional “May the road rise up to meet you/May the wind be always at your back/May the sun shine warm upon your face…” There is further Celtic heritage on 'Banba’s Crown' with amazing fiddle playing by Bill Murphy. The song is a tribute to County Donegal, Ireland, with the title taken from the tower on the Northern coast that was built by the British as a lookout post during the Napoleonic Wars. (Perhaps not coincidentally, Donegal is also the home of his former songwriting partner.) Looking out on the sea near this structure named after one of the country’s patron goddesses, Joe sees the untamed beauty in the “Celtic night falling down” and “the ancient sun burning low.” 'Things That I’ve Done Wrong' is a belting rocker with heavy slide guitar and, like 'Open Heart', feels comfortably familiar. Joe told David White, “A lot of the album is about getting yourself together after suffering a kind of pitfall… [‘Things That I’ve Done Wrong’] too explores the notion that when you’ve suffered some kind of hardship, you’ve got to reflect and gather your resources together. Whether you’ve made mistakes or suffered as a result of other people’s mistakes, whatever is going on, you’ve got to rally round, find the strength from somewhere.” Joe’s lyrics are filled with the romanticism of nature, using weather and the natural world as metaphors for his wild inner emotions: burning mountains, stars, sun, fading light, a low-slung moon, mighty thunder, gathering storm clouds, winter fires while snow is falling. It could all be mistaken for heartland America if it weren't for the subtle local references: fireworks on Bonfire Night and the cold November morning after on the beach, South Coast beaches, southwesterly rain ('The Morning Coast'), tidal breaks, harbours and shipwrecked souls ('The Lucky Ones'), waves, and navigating the sea without a chart ('Open Heart'). He uses the physical and psychological landscape of Cornwall as surely as Bruce Springsteen utilizes New Jersey’s. And it’s clearly the English south he’s referring to when he sings “I can feel the southern magic crawling up my spine.” After all, when all else fails in an awkward, emotionally charged situation, you can always talk about the weather.

Track Listing:-

1 Platinum and Gold
2 Sunlight, Good Roads
3 The Lucky Ones
4 The Morning Bell
5 Things That I've Done Wrong
6 Dragonfly
7 Before the Flood
8 Open Heart
9 Banba's Crown
10 Fireworks Night (Promises We Make)

Band Links:-

http://www.wintermountain.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/Winter_Mountain
https://www.facebook.com/wintermountain
https://www.instagram.com/wintermountain/

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