Carrying

Unifying the output of North Carolina-based musician Sally Anne Morgan is not easy. There's her solo albums, 2020's Thread and 2021's Cups; her work with Appalachian old-time revivalists The Black Twig Pickers and as one half of House and Land with Sarah Louise Henson; then there's her work as a letterpress artist, as co-founder of the SPINSTER record label and her own microbrewery. In all of these, her interest is in honouring traditionalism while thoughtfully updating it with her own spin. She's joined here by some notable players from the cosmic folk and country spheres, including guitarist Ripley Johnson (Rose City Band, Wooden Shjips), drummer Nathan Bowles (Steve Gunn Band) and bassist/engineer Joe Dejarnette for a subtly seductive, finely crafted album which was, she says, “intimately connected to the process of conceiving and birthing and raising a child.” Nestling between the solo banjo opener ‘Beekeeper’ and the closing lullaby ‘Song for Arthur’ lie languid and delicate arrangements of such familiar tunes as ‘Streets of Derry’ and ‘Diamond Joe’ alongside the playfully psychedelic swirls of ‘Dawn Circle’ and ‘Awake’ as well as the acid-folk of ‘The Center’, notably embellished by the fluttering flute of Lou Turner.