Blight and Blossom

Leader of the new-generation Albion Band, son of folk¬rock guv’nor Ashley Hutchings and the child actor who played the young Willy Wonka in the Tim Burton and Johnny Depp film, Dunlop was also a finalist in the 2012 BBC Young Folk Awards. He’s got a fine voice and has been hailed as a major guitar player. With his solo debut, he delivers a strong set under a great title. There are impressive guests, too, such as Pete Zorn, the busy Lovell sisters from Larkin Poe, his dad Ashley and Joan Wasser (aka Joan as Police Woman). His voice has the same youthful, epic, crowd-drawing quality as the young Seth Lakeman. Given his acting background, it’s no surprise there are strong, dramatic threads running through his work. Opener ‘Secret Theatre’ considers the theory that it was Christopher Marlowe who wrote Shakepeare’s plays, while ‘This Gown’ draws on the movie imagery of Powell & Pressburger.

His duet on ‘Black is the Colour’ with Rebecca Lovell features some fabulous acoustic guitar and transatlantic harmonies, and Richard Thompson contributes a strong unreleased song, ‘Seven Brothers’. In this case, seven is an especially unlucky number, and darkness descends through the narrative in a series of thick knots of misfortune. He also covers Shawn Colvin’s ‘Trouble,’ with Joan Wasser sharing vocals and featuring great soprano sax from Pete Zorn, while the closing track draws on one of Louis MacNeice’s finest works, ‘Autumn Journal’ (1939).

There’s darkness, portents and omens within, but buoyed by attractive tunes and an engaging pop sensibility. I would bet on hearing a lot more from Blair Dunlop.