Wild Hog

Wild Hog is the follow-up to Lucy Farrell, Emily Portman, Rachel Newton and Alasdair Roberts’ collaborative debut, At Our Next Meeting. Recorded once again by Andy Bell, they’re joined by guest musicians Alex Neilson of Trembling Bells and double bassist Steve Jones. Each member is an acclaimed solo artist, and everyone brings their own distinctive personalities and artistry to the material right from the off. Roberts’ angular, astringent ‘Wild Hog in the Woods’ is followed by Farrell's beautiful vocal on an Appalachian song from Jean Ritchie, ‘Dear Companion’. Throughout, their choice of songs draws deep from traditional sources and makes for dynamic sequencing, with each member taking lead vocals by turn. As Roberts notes, ‘Wild Hog’ has roots in Middle English romance and even older Celtic traditions, while Portman contributes a variant of ‘Barbara Allen’, Newton a waulking (cloth-working) song from Skye and Farrell provides a stunning vocal on the haunting ‘Polly Vaughn’. Strongly collaborative, innovative and quite distinctive, The Furrow Collective open up the tradition to new sensations and interpretations without ever resorting to the comfortable or clichéd.