What do you do when the world’s falling apart? Take to the streets? Run to the hills? The latest album by this British folk-rock quartet suggests that a blend of fantasy and realism can provide a better way of living.
Their best-known member, Richard Dawson, addresses Facebook-dwelling flag-fiends on Dead in a Post-Truth World – “the mythical country you claim allegiance of is gone / It was never here” – his grave tone offset by Rhodri Dawson’s Welsh taunts in a nursery-rhyme melody. Between the euphoric singalong choruses of Scales Will Fall, Dawn Bothwell delivers what she calls “bard rap” – a steady vocal flow somewhere between spoken word and hip-hop – to decry capitalism and celebrate grassroots resistance. Another stunning, whirling chorus led by Sally Pilkington sits at the heart of End of the Rhythm, a spirited jig that lays out a manifesto for collective action. That collectivism is in the music itself: ragged yet richly populated arrangements of guitars, sax, trumpet and more, with plenty of guests (including children on flute and vocals).
