TYDE - The Hidden Spoon
Mrs. Casey Records MCRCD3102
Based in the North East and Scottish Borders and stemming originally from Kathryn Tickell’s celebrated Folkestra project, Tyde were finalists in the 2009 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Awards and released their eponymous debut album in 2010. On this second release, the trio of Andrew Waite (accordion), Heather Gesset (fiddle and vocals) and Seth Tinsley (guitar, double bass, vocals) are supplemented by guests Jim Molyneux (percussion) and Pete Thomas (electric bass).
Again, their programme is a series of carefully and cleverly constructed tune sets, drawing on the work of esteemed composer players (such as fiddlers Aidan O’Rourke and Adam Sutherland, flute/pipes/whistle players Brian Finnegan and Michael McGoldrick) and blending that with their own compositions, interspersed with a couple of songs and a poem (Charlotte Brontë’s Evening Solace) set to music. The dynamic range and sophistication of the tunes is well crafted. Pieces plentiful with rhythmic feel and propulsive drive, often catchily entrancing and displaying intricate interplay, co-exist with moving sequences of elegance and grace (including a jig derived from queuing in a branch of RBS!). There’s balance and maturity aplenty.
High praise is again due to producer ich Mowatt for another well-judged sound spectrum serving them so well. I still feel they should consider making more of Heather’s sweet voice and, because of its asset value, progress the song complement accordingly, but there’s surely ample time for that. This is another excellent release from a band deserving a high profile and reputation. That concealed cutlery, incidentally, remains a deliberate mystery!
Kevin T. Ward
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 96 of The Living Tradition magazine. |