Skydancers

‘The bird completes the skyline’ is a refrain in the title-track of Martin Simpson’s new album. Simpson loves birds; a swallow tattooed on his forearm takes flight as he plays his guitar and banjo. Trouble is, the skyline is left unfinished. Hen harriers, whose aerobatic courtship flights earn them the name skydancers, are absent. These raptors are protected, yet persecuted by gamekeepers. The song, a cry of outrage, is also a paean to the diverse beauty of birds. Simpson’s writing is as nuanced, subtle and elegant as his playing. Skydancers is a double album, the first, studio recordings – considered, polished; the second, majority live performances – exciting, in the moment. Simpson is steeped in English and American music: ‘Alan Tyne of Harrow’ is a terrific ‘goodnight’ ballad – with a dig at police corruption. ‘Tom Sherman’s Barroom’ is an incarnation of ‘The Unfortunate Rake’. In the US version it’s bullets rather than syphilis that cause the young man’s demise. And there’s Woody Guthrie’s ‘Deportee’. So, no shortage of sad contemporary resonance here. But no shortage of happiness and wonder, either; banjo tune ‘Roger’s Cascade’ is a profound expression of joie de vivre. This is Simpson’s 12th full-length solo album – and his masterpiece.