Marina Florance - Fly Beyond the Border

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 31 / 5 / 2018

Label: Marina Florance
Format: CD

intro

First-rate return from Norwich-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Marina Florance with a collection of previously released singles, collaborations and new songs that throw up a few surprises

It was two years ago that this writer first heard Marina Florance. The Norwich-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist made such an impression with her then latest album, ‘This, That & The Other’ it’s hardly been out of reach since then. Despite there being so many exceptional artists out there right now who are covering similar ground to Marina, it was obvious that she had that special something that made her stand out from the crowd. It wasn’t just her story-songs, although they are obviously part of the appeal, and it wasn’t just her voice either, which is a thing of beauty, a warm, comforting sound that could surely calm a storm. What made ‘This, That & The Other’ so special was simply the fact that Marina Florance is a rare talent. She even self-produced the album and made most of the sounds herself. One listen to that album and you felt that not only did you know Marina Florance but that she had an insight into your life. She was singing about the struggles and the good times we had all been through and she was singing them through an instrument unique to Marina Florance; that reassuring, beautiful voice. Marina recently released her new album, ‘Fly Beyond the Border’. For a self-released CD it is beautifully packaged. It appears Marina could show the majors a thing or two about how to present music. ‘Fly Beyond the Border’ features new, original songs, collaborations and previously released singles. According to the sleeve notes some of the previously released tracks have been remastered and reworked. The album opens with a song that has already been issued on the Folkstock label, ‘Every Woman’ which Marina wrote with Richard Pierce and one of two songs on this collection which features background vocals from Cathryn Craig. It had this listener reaching for Cathryn’s ‘Porch Songs’ album from 1995 as soon as ‘Fly Beyond the Border’ had played through a couple of times. Spend some time checking out Cathryn’s body of work; it will be time well spent. ‘Every Woman’, although already known to Marina’s fans, is the perfect opening song; dominated by Mark Jolley’s fiddle there’s an obvious country flavour to the song but it’s those vocals and Marina’s lyrics that hit the hardest. If you’ve never heard Marina and Cathryn sing together then be prepared to be blown away; when these two exceptional singers get together it’s like listening to a choir of angels. Both Cathryn and Mark Jolley feature on the following track, ‘Two More People’, another country-inspired waltz with heartfelt vocals from both singers. Words cannot do justice to the vocals on this song; they simply have to be heard. Marina also produced this track (as she did the majority of the album) and the results are breathtaking; there is no other word. Kate Dimbleby (who will be appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe this coming August) lends her vocals to ‘I’m Okay’, a more up-tempo number than what has gone before despite being about missing a former love. It’s to Marina’s credit that she can use the talents of two completely different singers on songs which come from different places yet still make it sound so natural and right. ‘Sirens’ is one of those performances that will send shivers down the listener’s spine. Lyrically and vocally it shows Marina at her best; written with Jules Fox Allen (who has half a dozen co-writes on this album) it paints a picture of how strong women are even during difficult times - “Time moved on, we grew up fast/From the playground to the factory floor/In a man’s world we had to find our voice if our hearts craved for something more.” This time co-writer Jules adds backing vocals and again the results are stunning. ‘A Coffee Shop Song’ is completely solo. Marina handles the majority of instruments on the album but on this track every sound is made by her. It’s a short, sweet unabashed love song and another remarkable performance. ‘The Blue Lady’ appears in two versions; a vocal cut that was co-written with Jules and an instrumental version that features Ben Walker’s Dobro and lead guitar playing. Combined with Mark Jolley’s fiddle work the instrumental version is almost more haunting than the vocal track. The song tells the story of May Alice Savage who fought the authorities and moved her house single-handedly a hundred miles piece by piece after being told that it was to be demolished to make way for a road. A fascinating story made even more heartbreaking by Marina’s performance. ‘247 News’ throws up another side to Martina’s music. Featuring Johnno Casson on vocals it’s a topical, blues-tainted number on which Mark Jolley once again displays how important, his fiddle paying is in creating Marina’s sound. All the sounds on ‘Sometimes’, apart from Marina’s guitar, are created by Johnno Casson who also produced this track. It’s another departure for Marina. To hear a touch of electronics after what has gone before is initially a little unnerving but those vocals soon win you over and it all makes sense. It certainly makes sense of the album title that Marina is pushing boundaries with her music. Casson also lends his talents to the closing track, ‘The Winter Wind’, the most atmospheric cut on the album. There’s a haunting feeing hanging over most of Marina’s work even when her vocals are at their most comforting and are making your heart melt but the tracks Marina has made with Casson certainly boost the chill factor. The result is a sound that you’ll unlikely hear elsewhere. Having lived with ‘This, That & The Other’ for two years and knowing that there are songs on there that still, after all this time, can touch you like they did on the first listen, that meant that ‘Fly Beyond The Border’ would have had to be really exceptional to match that album. It’s early days but there are already songs on this latest collection that are shining like little jewels. There’s a feeling that this one will be kept close to hand too.

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