Blue Rose Code - The Water of Leith

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 1 / 3 / 2018

---

No Blue Rose Code album has ever been an easy listening experience. Ross Wilson, the benevalent dictator at the helm, has previously made three albums found him raking over a diffocult upbringing, his battles with alcoholism and then, on his third album, divorce. Amidst all this pain, often expressed in stark detail, there has always been beauty. Few songs in which the writer confronts their attempt to escape from their childhood can possibly be as catchy as early highlight, 'Ghosts of Leith'. Having penned a number of songs promising to be a better husband on earlier albums, the final moments of his marriage were set out in a beautiful ballad, with the heartbreaking refrain, "the one regret that resides is that I do wish I had kissed you goodbye." The concern for any artist dependant on mining their personal misery for their music is that it becomes a self-fufilling prophesy. I was genuinely upset, having heard him come through rehabilitatoion and recovery on his second album, 'The Ballads of Peckham Rye' to find another personal crisis had set in as he recorded the follow-up '... And Lo The Bird Is On The Wing'. But, it seems the darkest days really might be behind him. On stage at the Ramsgate Music Hall recently, Ross told the audience that he and his new partner, having recently moved to begin a new life in Manchester, were imminently expecting the birth of his first child. "I deserve a happy ending, don't I?", he said. While hopefully just the latest of many new albums to come, Blue Rose Code's fourth record might be just that. It is an album of hope and redemption, with a number of direct musical and lyrical references back to his earlier work. Indeed, even the album's title is a throwback to the aforementioned 'Ghosts of Leith'. That earlier song saw the younger Ross fleeing Edinburgh for London, apologising that he was "never ever coming home again." Now, the album finds him reconnecting to his roots. Alongside him, he brings together a collection of some of Scotland's finest folk and jazz musicians. Notable contributions come from violinist Seonaid Aitken (whose work on this album is of a similar unforgettable quality she had previously brought to Roddy Woomble's 'Impossible Song and Other Songs' album earlier in the decade) and from saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski (who transforms Wilson's already memorable tunes into fully pledged radio-friendly pop). Already known for stretching the boundary of folk music as far as it will go, 'The Water of Leith' finds Wilson pushing himself to both extremes. Any of his earlier albums could have comfortable accomodated the wistful melody of 'Bluebells' - a song seemingly once again addressed to his ex-wife, as they both move on to new relationships - but the clipped drum lines and saxophone moods give this song an urgency he's never found before. Likewise, the jaunty "Ebb and Flow" channels the best of 'Moondance'-era Van Morrison, an influence previously hinted at but now fully embraced. It's as naturally a tuneful song as he's ever written. But, just as I was expecting this to be 'Blue Rose Code Goes Pop', the album abruptly shifts gear with 'Passing Places', an instrumental on which Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes takes over for a haunting refrain and fiddles and accordians float eerily around the melody. It's as effective as anything as the experimental trio Lau have managed. Later, the nine minute instrumental 'The Water' again finds the sweet spot between experimental folk and piano jazz - ploughing similar terrain as on the Unthanks' recent work, with Miles Davis an obvious inspiration. We are left with a simply astounding listening experience. At its heart is 'Sandaig', a recording that sends shivers up the spine. A virtual tour of the Scottish coastline, it culminates in the clarion call that you can "hear the cries for social justice all along rhe coast". Far from running out of things to say, a newly hopeful Ross Wilson has found a passion and a purpose his earlier records only hinted at. "The Water of Leith", in turn, is a work of serious substance and an album you will be listening to for years and years to come.

Track Listing:-

1 Over the Fields
2 Bluebell
3 Ebb & Flow
4 Passing Places
5 Sandaig
6 Nashville Blue
7 On the Hill Remains a Heart
8 Love Is...
9 Polaris
10 The Water
11 To the Shore
12 Child

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/bluerosecode
https://bluerosecode.com/
https://twitter.com/BlueRoseCode
https://www.youtube.com/user/CooperAndPeggy/videos
https://www.instagram.com/bluerosecode/

Label Links:-

http://www.navigatorrecords.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/navigatorrecords
https://twitter.com/navigatorrecs
https://www.pinterest.com/PaperAmusic/
https://www.youtube.com/user/PaperAeroplanesMusic
http://www.last.fm/music/Paper+Aeroplanes

Post A Comment

---

Comment

Name

your name

Location

ie London, UK

Submit

Check box to submit

Adam Coxon
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson

Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart

Malcolm Carter
Marie Hazelwood
Mark Rowland
Nick Dent-Robinson
Nicky Crewe
Nige Nudds
Philamonjaro
Richard Lewis
Shirley Procter
Spencer Robertshaw
Steev Burgess
Steve Kinrade

Steve Miles
Tommy Gunnarsson
Zena Grieg