{"id":22073,"date":"2021-12-09T05:30:28","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T10:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=22073"},"modified":"2021-12-20T13:16:12","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T18:16:12","slug":"album-review-smoke-fairies-through-low-light-and-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/09\/album-review-smoke-fairies-through-low-light-and-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Smoke Fairies \u2013 Through Low Light and Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"In early 2020, thanks to the good graces of a kind music publicist, I received a copy of Darkness Brings the Wonder Home<\/i>, the 7th<\/sup> album from British folk rock band Smoke Fairies. I was duly impressed with the record. As I noted in a review posted in March of last year<\/a>, the band creates \u201coriginal music that\u2019s steeped in the folk and blues tradition, yet they don\u2019t sound derivative.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was my first exposure to the band, and as much as I enjoyed Darkness Brings the Wonders Home<\/i>, I never got around to exploring Smoke Fairies\u2019 back catalog. Now in late 2021, another album has landed upon my desk: Through Light and Low Trees<\/i>. The LP package did not include a one-sheet (industry parlance for a bio and marketing bulletin, often sent by labels or publicists to reviewers), so initially, I mistakenly thought it was the band\u2019s latest release.<\/p>\n

In fact it\u2019s their 2010 \u201cdebut album\u201d (though there was an earlier, independent release four years earlier). And mere seconds into dropping the needle on Side One\u2019s opener \u201cSummer Fades,\u201d it became obvious to me that for thir major label debut (that\u2019s how best to describe it), Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies burst out with a fully formed musical concept.<\/p>\n

Crystalline vocal harmonies and a gentle (but not boring or underdeveloped) acoustic-leaning backing conjure images of Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention and (of course) the gentler, mystical corners of Led Zeppelin\u2019s fourth, untitled album. \u201cSummer Fades\u201d is jaw-dropping in its sonic beauty, in its careful, understated power and majesty. The band sounds as if it\u2019s well into its third album, full of confidence in what they\u2019re doing and with nothing to prove.<\/p>\n

And the opening track proves to be no outlier. \u201cDevil in My Mind\u201d is sonically consistent, but it\u2019s quite different from the ground up. The two group leaders (and guitarists) continue to make the most of their vocal blend, but the other musical components \u2013 bass, drums and all-important viola \u2013 work together to create a backing that\u2019s stunningly beautiful.<\/p>\n

And so it continues. Smoke Fairies\u2019 immersion into the British\/European folk traditions informs the band\u2019s musical approach to a significant degree, but these timeless tunes aren\u2019t Renaissance Fair material. The songs are full of mystery and nuance, drawing the listener into Smoke Fairies\u2019 world in the most effortless fashion possible.<\/p>\n

The group adds a bit of Merseybeat jangle to the mix on the sublime \u201cHotel Room.\u201d But in Smoke Fairies\u2019 capable hands, those textures are fully assimilated into their existing musical framework, so the song doesn\u2019t sound like a pastiche. \u201cDragon\u201d is spooky drawing room piano and vocal. \u201cErie Lackawanna\u201d features subtle twelve-string picking and near-whispered vocal harmonies. It\u2019s the kind of music that makes the listener lean forward so as not to miss anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrange Moon Rising\u201d heads to the Mississippi Delta for its vibe. Blamire and Davies\u2019 ghostly twin lead vocals are spellbinding, especially against the hypnotic instrumental backing and somnolent slide guitar.<\/p>\n

Smoke Fairies\u2019 use of studio technology is a model of subtlety, never calling attention to itself. But whatever studio effects that the group does employ are peeled away \u2013 or at least dialed back to the point of serving as subliminal elements \u2013 on the contemplative \u201cMorning Blues.\u201d The song underscores the sonic variety that exists within Smoke Fairies\u2019 well-defined musical approach.<\/p>\n

Neil Walsh\u2019s viola is a key ingredient in \u201cStorm Song,\u201d a tune that makes the most of dynamics, alternating quiet\/loud, gentle\/briefly forceful. The mix of those textures is seamless and brilliantly executed. \u201cBlue Skies Fall\u201d brings back the electric 12-string, with a cyclical riff that weaves a musical spell around the listener. The rhythm section\u2019s understated support is a model of subtlety, and highly effective.<\/p>\n

\u201cFeeling is Turning Blue\u201d is an impressionistic piece, eschewing percussion and letting the implied beat move the song along. (The liner notes credit both Blamire and Davies with \u201crhythmical organ sounds.\u201d)<\/p>\n

(A quick word about the packaging: The sturdy sleeve with moody-evocative artwork and inner picture sleeve is a thing of beauty, as is the translucent green vinyl pressing.)<\/p>\n

This vinyl reissue of Through Low Light and Trees<\/i> closes with \u201cAfter the Rain\u201d a simple, unadorned guitar and the duo\u2019s vocals. The wordless harmonies the anchor the song\u2019s second half beckon the listener to remain in Smoke Fairies\u2019 world. I, for one, am convinced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In early 2020, thanks to the good graces of a kind music publicist, I received a copy of Darkness Brings the Wonder Home, the 7th album from British folk rock […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,30,62,64,65],"tags":[4152],"class_list":["post-22073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blues","category-folk","category-rawk","category-reissue","category-review","tag-smoke-fairies","cat-9-id","cat-30-id","cat-62-id","cat-64-id","cat-65-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22073"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22231,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22073\/revisions\/22231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}