The Turn of the Tide
Author: Nathaniel Handy
View album and artist detailsAlbum and Artist Details
Artist/band: |
Peter Fergus McClelland |
Label: |
Hobgoblin Records |
Magazine Review Date: |
November/2017 |
This is the second solo album from the Sussex-based folk singer with fingers in many pies. He is the co-founder of Hobgoblin Music instrument shops, as well as the Blackthorn Band and country music band Montana Rain, and a member of ThingumaJig ceilidh band. This set of songs was brought together for a performance at the 2016 Cornwall Folk Festival and then recorded for this album the following spring.
The subtitle of the album – Songs of the Sea, Coast, Fishing, Rivers, Lovers and Banishment – reveals a concept album of a very broad kind.
This is extremely spare, straight-up folk-club fare. The focus is very much on one man and his instrument – though there is some gentle accompaniment on fiddle, whistles, bass and cajón. McClelland sings simple folk songs – including three of his own compositions – in an unadorned fashion. With a rough-and-ready voice and a uniformity of tone throughout, this is the kind of folk music album that, while I'm sure has its fans, could leave the uninitiated feeling rather cold.
The subtitle of the album – Songs of the Sea, Coast, Fishing, Rivers, Lovers and Banishment – reveals a concept album of a very broad kind.
This is extremely spare, straight-up folk-club fare. The focus is very much on one man and his instrument – though there is some gentle accompaniment on fiddle, whistles, bass and cajón. McClelland sings simple folk songs – including three of his own compositions – in an unadorned fashion. With a rough-and-ready voice and a uniformity of tone throughout, this is the kind of folk music album that, while I'm sure has its fans, could leave the uninitiated feeling rather cold.
