Low Drift - The Low Drift

by Steve Kinrade

published: 21 / 6 / 2022

Label: Cwm Saerbren
Format: CD

Pastoral yet potent folk rock on extraordinary debut album from Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire trio The Low Drift

Review

As I have probably mentioned previously in my scribblings, the beauty of the fact that music is a broad church means that there is something for everyone. Yes, you can appreciate the musicianship, the vocalisation, the lyrical intent and integrity, compositional skill - song smithery if you will - all these factors. This is Part A. But to touch your soul, as successful Art achieves - you must be taken into another realm by your engagement. The Art facilitates this transformation - the Part B. With The Low Drift’s eponymous debut album, both parts are magnificently achieved. For this is an album of the elemental and visceral, full of potent images of nature and its cycle of birth and death. The opener - 'Deadwood' - introduces us to the fragile and brittle voice of Emma Thorpe, who perfectly vocalises the feeling of the irresistible drive of nature, and how our relationships are entwined within it. The flute motif is pure early King Crimson and is sonically appropriate to the emotional atmosphere that is created. The pastoral ambience of 'Deadwood' is immediately fact-checked with 'Come Alive (A Second Time)' where Huw Costin draws upon an urban topographical reality of a presumed past. He possesses a rich, emotive baritone, which manages to drench the opening lines in suitable pathos. The John Martyn influence is cited elsewhere, and is an honest observation that matches the honesty of the song. Also fascinating is how the song reaches its denouement: a production decision that might not have paid off. To these ears it did - most handsomely. The third member of the trio, Matt Hill, takes lead voice duties on the sublime 'Everything Flows', which evokes the spirit of Crosby Stills and Nash at their very finest. And again, nature and the environment we forge from it is the prominent theme - “The moss on an iron ridge / A horse on a distant ridge” and how everything is, essentially interconnected. Believe me, it would be both tempting and perhaps a little self-indulging to go through this album track by track, grandising it until in danger of collapsing under it’s own grandeur. It is an album that reveals the new on every fresh listen. And you must listen. No, the best way is to not take my word, but only my recommendation. Thorpe, Costin and Hill have come together as some sort of symbiotic trio to write and deliver an album of outstanding musical sentiment and beauty. And recognition must be given to the two Psycho-Geographers Jane Samuels and Dr. Morag Rose who worked with the musicians to infuse this collection of compositions with a rich sense of place and emotional sensibility. They achieved their aims fully. With love and golden apples in abundance, and plenty to share

Track Listing:-

1 Deadwood
2 Come Alive (A Second Time)
3 Everything Flows
4 Then The Rain Came
5 Breezeblocks
6 Bleaklow
7 Us And The Water
8 A Gift Of Unknown Things
9 Monyash