Marsh Towers

Thursday, 13 December 2012

London: Bits and Pieces

A few more photos from my London trip.

An excellent exhibition at the British Library

Well worth a visit

A fine display at the National Portrait Gallery

Pavement art at Trafalgar Square

More sights from the Square

A rarity!

The tree at Covent Garden

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

Apple of My Eye: Devils

Apple of My Eye
Devils

''Apple of My Eye weave beautiful and epic folk tales from snatches of half remember songs you mother used to sing you, and lyrics scrawled on the backs of unopened bank statements.''

So runs the evocative blurb. It turns out to be an apt description.

I have been listening to this CD a lot over the last couple of weeks. The musical experience is very much in layers and it demands repeated analysis.

Devils run through the songs in many guises. Some are blatant - as in the title track - but others are much more obscure. A devil is shown to be the Real Thing, (indeed, the Devil himself ''without who this album wouldn't have been possible'' gets a shout-out in the CD credits), a mood, a thought or a prejudice.

The genre is definitely folk but the material draws on a variety of sub genres rather remaining entirely traditional. Some of it is dark enough to put one foot into alt-folk. Occasionally the tracks are reminiscent of Bard, reviewed here earlier this year, especially in terms of the vocal delivery, although Apple of My Eye retains a distinctly original flavour.

Track List

Bad Luck on the Riverbed

Jenny

Mariama

Willow

Man on a Rope

Devils

Cliffs

Bristol

Sad Trevor Weeps

Fiddle Song

Cow Song

As for the division of labour between the seven-strong personnel:

''We all sing. AND ALSO -

Arran Glass (guitar)
Chris Rusbridge (bazouki)
Ellie Rose Rusbridge (vocals)
Kit Massey (violin)
Alex Scott (mandolin)
Phil Cornwell (double bass)
Dan Rusbridge (harmonica)''

Indeed, it is the vocal harmonies that drive the songs in different directions and enable a full range of characters and emotions to be used for the purely story-telling aspect of the songs.

There are several highlights. Bad Luck on the Riverbed is outwardly simplistic, an impression augmented by the running time - a mere 82 seconds. Yet closer inspection reveals the depth. The story centres around a simple fishing trip and the pride of using the father's fishing equipment to catch a rainbow trout. Pride turns to more distasteful feelings when a slip of the knife leads to the experience of pain being transferred from hunted to hunter. The song stops somewhat abruptly, encouraging the listener's thoughts to rush in and fill in the gap. It's a powerful message for such a short song.

The dual vocals are used especially well here. The male voice drives the narrative and the female voice lends the song a deceptive air of innocence, initially conjuring up memories of nursery rhymes before things take a darker turn. The devil of pride is apparently conquered, but at the cost of lost innocence.

Willow floats by beautifully, with very effective use of the violin and gentle lyrics.

Man on a Rope tells the tale of man meeting an terrible end due to the devils inherent in an older generation, despite his own innocence.

Devils is another highlight and rightfully takes its place as the centrepiece of the album. Inspiration is drawn from various sources, including tales such as The Monkey's Paw, i.e. be careful what you wish for.

Devils is a powerful and challenging debut from a group who are not afraid to go their own to produce innovative and experimental music. Definitely one to catch live, methinks.

Image © Apple of My Eye

There are three places to visit for further information:

Wordpress
Facebook
Myspace

Covent Garden Entertainers

Covent Garden is a very entertaining place. If you find yourself in London, I recommend going there on a Sunday morning while the rest of the city sleeps (some of the shops don't open until 11.30 a.m.).

The market is well worth a look, but it's the eccentric jugglers and other street entertainers who never fail to impress.

The first one I saw last Sunday was a man who insisted on stripping off nearly everything before juggling with three knives as he wobbled around on a tall ladder.

Next up was a man who seemed to specialise in singing On the Street Where You Live amid a deserted outdoor cafe. The back of his T-shirt bore the legend: 'CDs £10'.

The next juggler started by balancing her ladder on her chin. Then she dragged four volunteers from the crowd to hold the ladder upright with ropes before running through a short gymnastic display. The act concluded with some upside down juggling.

There was even a man doing the old 'three cups' routine.

And here is a man who thinks he's a dog. Or is it a dog who thinks he's a man?

Maintaining the bizarre theme, it wasn't entirely clear how this silver man was holding himself up.

The whole experience was reminiscent of a visit to Avengerland, with John Steed and Mrs Peel investigating a lot of strange goings on featuring an incredible array of eccentric characters.