Various - Harbour of Songs

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 9 / 7 / 2012

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Review

The Lone Twin Boat is a seafaring ship, currently sailing round the coastline of south east England, made entirely of wooden items donated by the public. Each donated item needed to have a story to tell. It is one of the many projects taking place across Britain as part of the cultural Olympiad, running alongside this summer’s Olympic Games. Its genesis came from time spent in Totnes, Devon; a place where the whole town would turn out to watch a new ship being launched. Lone Twin (two artists, Gregg Whelen and Gary Winters) wondered if that sense of community could be extended to the whole lifespan of a boat – the materials used to build it, the act of building it and its voyages. So, the launch of the boat (“Community Spirit”) was marked by crowds of people in Winchester harbour, while its voyage around the English coastline is being marked by a musician (Jonny Lamb, aka Thirty Pounds of Bone) on board, writing songs on each leg of the journey. Meanwhile, back on shore, Adrian McNally (one of the Unthanks) was commissioning thirteen different songwriters to write about their favourite pieces that went into the boat. The contributing artists are a good representation of the modern British folk scene, with established names like Ralph McTell and Janis Ian rubbing shoulders with youngsters Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell (normally a duo, but with a song each here). McTell’s piano ballad 'The Shed' is one of the stand-out moments in this collection. Reading the story of the three planks from a grandfather’s shed, McTell was reminded of peering into his uncle’s shed as a youngster. The shed, a place for sanctuary where “we both took communion of biscuits with our tea”, eventually turns into a ship of dreams. I doubt it took the compilers long to decide that this song should close the album. Meanwhile, Nick Hornby contributes lyrics to the Unthanks ‘The Ruler’, remembering the days when a thick wooden ruler spread fear around classes of intimidated schoolchildren. He wonders how people’s lives would have changed without those childhood beatings. Jonny Kearney’s crumpled croon rises to its usual standards – his offering is as good as anything on last year’s excellent ‘Kite’. Kearney often gives the impression of having stumbled on his melodies by mistake, but he wouldn’t be half as good if that were true. Meanwhile his partner, Lucy Farrell steps out of the sidelines with a song of her own that suggest she will write more of the duo’s material in the future. Villagers got lots of votes in Pennyblackmusic’s album of the year poll for a hauntingly beautiful debut album. His offering here focuses less on the object than his reaction to the story behind it. But – like with Jonny Farrell – it is as good as anything we have heard from him before. Many people think that Britain’s burgeoning – and remarkably collegiate – folk scene is the source of the most exciting music being made on these shores right now. This album suggests that view is probably right. Compilations of this kind, no matter how well meaning, often suffer because too many of those involved have noticeably held back from offering their best work. Here, under the watchful eye of McNally and the Unthanks, modern folk artists show how you can acknowledge traditions without aping them. Amidst this album are several songs of, to put it simply, heartbreaking brilliance. The boat itself may still ultimately be seen as the greater artistic triumph than the songs about the boat, but it’s a close run thing. So, instead of buying wristbands and branded teddies, get in the Olympic spirit by buying this.

Track Listing:-

1 House Of Wood
2 White Fish Authority
3 The Ruler
4 Dressing Up
5 My Rola-Bola Board
6 Dream Of A Tree In A Spanish Graveyard
7 Carved In Two
8 Sail On By
9 Pampelmüsse & The Conjuror's Stool
10 Delayed Reaction
11 Simple Wooden Box
12 The Tiny Mouse
13 Shed Song