Visions of Albion - Visions of Albion
by John Clarkson
published: 5 / 7 / 2021

Label:
Klee Music
Format: CDS
intro
Diverse debut EP from promising Merseyside-based Americana/folk act Visions of Albion
Visions of Albion are the latest signing to the excellent Merseyside label Klee Music, which has a great aptitude for discovering and showcasing local acts. The group, an Americana/folk duo which formed in 2018 and consists of vocalist Samantha Shields and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Ryan, has drawn various comparisons with ‘Rumours’-era Fleetwood Mac. It is an apt description, as there is an element of Stevie Nicks in Shields’ floating vocals and Ryan’s surging guitar lines on ‘Daily Life’, the lead track on Visions of Albion’s eponymous debut EP. This, however, paints only part of the picture of what is a diverse and creative act. On opening track, the gently breezy and tentatively optimistic ‘You’re Not Alone’ Shields recalls the late Sandy Denny (“I feel your touch, and it is just enough to know that this is real”), and Ryan also reveals himself to be also a vocalist of some worth with his softly rasping additional vocals. The dryly witty ‘Old Time Blues’ (“You’re the best thing that never happened to me”) is built around very little, just Shields’ vocal line and Ryan’s plucked acoustic guitar line, but is gorgeous in its sparseness and simplicity. The closer ‘All That I Know’ captures bruised heartache and despair poignantly (“Woke up this morning to a deeper shade of grey”), and is based around a sombre organ and weeping strings, both of which surge upwards. An effective and versatile new offering from a promising new act,
Track Listing:-
1 You're Not Alone2 Old Time Blues
3 Daily Life
4 All That I Know
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/VisionsofAlbion/https://twitter.com/visionsofalbion?lang=en
Play in YouTube:-
Have a Listen:-
bandcamp
most viewed articles
current edition
Spear Of Destiny - InterviewRobert Forster - Interview
Fiona Hutchings - Interview
When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Carl Ewens - David Bowie 1964 to 1982 On Track: Every Album, Every Song
Brian Wilson - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Pistol Daisys - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Nils Petter Molvaer - El Molino, Barcelona, 24/4/2025
Credits - ARC, Liverpool, 17/5.2025
Gary Numan - Berserker
most viewed reviews
current edition
Peter Doolan - I Am a Tree Rooted to the Spot and a Snake Moves Around Me,in a CircleGarbage - Let All That We Imagine Be The Light
Little Simz - Lotus
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
John McKay - Sixes and #Sevens
Billy Nomates - Metalhorse
Vinny Peculiar - Things Too Long Left Unsaid
HAIM - I Quit
Eddie Chacon - Lay Low
Only Child - Holy Ghosts
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart