Hattie Briggs - Young Runaway

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 6 / 9 / 2016

---

Review

It seems such a short time ago that Gloucestershire-based singer-songwriter Hattie Briggs released her debut album, the critically acclaimed ‘Red & Gold’. What was obvious from that debut and what made Hattie stand out, in an even then overcrowded genre, was a distinctive English voice so clear and pure it was impossible to ignore and an ability to combine astute lyrics to flowing melodies that once heard were never forgotten. That Hattie had found a young producer in Peter Waterman who totally understood her musical vision and who pushed the boundaries of folk music which Hattie was being grouped into at that time by cloaking the songs with a warm, inviting but atmospheric sheen thereby creating something unique was a bonus. While there was no doubt that an artist as talented as Hattie Briggs was going to break through at some point, that first album didn’t sound like a debut. It gave the impression that the songwriting, performance and production came from a more established artist as the album sounded so complete. Since ‘Red & Gold’ Hattie has released a remake of an earlier track, ‘Tilly’s Song’ and that rare thing, a Christmas single that can be appreciated all year round, in ‘Turn On The Lights’, both of which while not expanding too much on what they created on that debut defined even further the sound that Hattie and Peter achieved on that first album. Now it’s time for the second album, eleven songs grouped together under the title of ‘Young Runaway’. Hattie wrote all of the songs, one is a co-write with Jack Cookson who also duets on the song he took a hand in writing, ‘Have We Met Before?’, Asha McCarthy who plays strings on the album shares co-writing credits on the opening and closing pieces and producer Waterman also had input into ‘The River’, the closing song. While there are no gigantic leaps in the finished results (and why should there be? ‘Red & Gold’ was a near perfect collection of songs), this time around there are signs that rather than just cementing the unique sound of an exceptional young singer-songwriter who it would appear chose the right producer and group of musicians to bring her music to life, there has been some progression of their sound. Hattie proved with ‘Red & Gold’ and her Christmas single that she is gifted lyrically and also when it comes to setting her words to memorable melodies that there are few that are capable of reaching her level, so it’s no big surprise that she is still showing many of her contemporaries how it should be done. Where ‘Young Runaway’ does differ from ‘Red & Gold’ is that the album is a little more adventurous musically than its predecessor. Maybe that’s down to more confidence from both artist and producer this time, maybe it’s just a natural progression. The fact is that ‘Young Runaway’ builds on the promise shown on ‘Red & Gold’. and the overall sound has been expanded on and the end results are a little more experimental without losing any of that special magic which made Hattie’s debut so special. That haunting, almost spiritual sound that informs most of ‘Red & Gold’ and which defines this musician’s uniqueness has been retained, thankfully, on ‘Young Runaway’ and, especially on tracks like the opening ‘The Lake’, is more predominant than before. The strings that open the song evoke water dripping. Hattie’s vocals are at their most hauntingly beautiful and the arrangement and production of the song give early indication of just have far this artist has travelled in such a short space of time. It’s setting the bar high for the rest of the album and a brave move beginning with such an unexpected piece of music, although it sets the stage nicely for what follows. Closing the album with companion piece ‘The River’ gives the album one of its themes, that of water. The other theme which seems to flow through the songs is one of positivity; one of making the most of which life has given us, of leaving the past behind; a subject Hattie articulates with her usual skill of words. It’s not so often that the listener can come away from an album with such a positive feeling, but ‘Young Runaway’ is ultimately an uplifting set of songs, given that some are atmospheric pieces of music that’s quite an accomplishment. ‘Here’s to Hoping’ is a perfect example of this and also how Hattie’s sound has progressed. Lyrically it’s classic Hattie Briggs. Her voice has never sounded so strong and determined and the little instrumental touches like the introduction of pedal steel all indicate that here’s an artist who isn’t afraid to experiment and expand what proved to be a successful formula and who is still growing musically. ‘On Your Way’ is about seizing the moment like the similarly-themed ‘You Only Live Once’ but these songs are not just lyrically strong; Hattie’s way with melodies is remarkable, and they are instantly likeable but unlike other songs which you can’t shake out of your head after one listen they don’t lose their appeal even after many repeated plays. Each and every song on ‘Young Runaway’ is a winner because of a perfect combination of things; Hattie’s unique and instantly recognisable vocals, her strengths as a lyricist and composer of addictive melodies and her choice of producer and musicians who so obviously understand where Hattie is coming from musically and who all share her vision. The fact that Hattie isn’t scared to take risks also helps her music stand out from the rest. ‘Have We Met Before?’, the duet with Jack Cookson. is simply stunning. The contrast between their voices would indicate that the song shouldn’t really gel; Hattie’s vocals suggest that they are a little too pure to work with Jack’s when in fact the results make the song one of the most spine-chilling on the album. A whole album of the pair working together would be far from a wrong move given the beauty in this performance. ‘Talk to Me’ also confirms just how far Hattie and her associates have come since ‘Red & Gold’. It’s the sound of an artist taking chances and moving her music on with breathtaking results. There are lighter moments, ‘Digging To Australia’ recalls some of Paul Simon’s work and the enjoyment of those participating is captured perfectly, ‘Summertime Man’ is the perfect summer song, Hattie showing that she can tackle pop songs and come out winning. Any thoughts that her pure vocals restrict Hattie to any one genre are proved wrong here. Hey, she’s already written a Christmas song that in time will prove to be a classic so why not match it with a summer song? It’s quite an inspirational album, as mentioned before the listener leaves the album with a positive feeling, one that anything is still possible. ‘Red & Gold’ was a strong debut that showed that Hattie Briggs was an exceptional talent but not even that album prepared us for the little gems that sparkle and shine which make up ‘Young Runaway’. Where Hattie goes from here is anybody’s guess and she no doubt is already working on that. For now though ‘Young Runaway’ is one of those albums which is required daily listening,

Track Listing:-

1 The Lake
2 Lift Me Up
3 Here's to Hoping
4 On Your Way
5 Digging to Australia
6 Summertime Man
7 Have We Met Before?
8 Castle On the Sand
9 Talk to Me
10 You Only Live Once
11 The River

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hattie-
http://www.hattiebriggs.co.uk/
http://www.hattiebriggs.co.uk/current-
https://soundcloud.com/hattiepb
https://twitter.com/hattiebriggs
http://www.hattiebriggs.co.uk/shop

Label Links:-

http://www.hattiebriggs.co.uk/shop