Meet The Folkers!
I’ve come from the back of beyond my friends for this one, meaning I saw the concert first and reviewed the album afterwards. It is very much like a rock opera in its overall feel and tone, encompassing all moods and characteristics, and crossing all lines which connect to that one, single, desire we, as humans crave – true love. Not being able to find it in the real world or not being wholly satisfied with what she had, our fair maiden here ventures beyond the pale and offers herself to the Grim Reaper himself. A personification of sorts, it may sound a little creepy but there is nothing unhinged about The Spell.
It has a magnetic quality, an electricity that channels its power and lights up the darkest corners of your life. The accompanying animation is quite exciting, as we see the story unfold and follow our wee lass on her travels. I’m a tad jealous, as I’m completely drawn into what Anna and friends have created here.
The obvious “sui generis” aspect is the inclusion of the hurdy gurdy, a most fascinating instrument, medieval, and other worldly in its design and exuding a certain wisdom that is alluring and mysterious.
We feel “Pain” to start with and “Death” follows, after which we fall in “Love”. Maybe not quite the protocol you are accustomed to, but in a fairy-tale style delivery, it does work. There is structure and substance which enforces the idea and you accept what happens without the need to question.
“When in love, all that’s left of you will fade” is poetic and sublime, painful yet soothing as you succumb to Death’s embrace. The gossamer-thin veil between life and death is explored extensively as we engage in a life that no one could possibly know. A vivid imagination and sharp sensitivity are crucial to successfully entrancing your audience.
With the title track we go from roots to moons to accentuate the universal and eternal qualities of love, life and death. “Sleep” is portrayed in this stylish and subtle ballad as we then turn things on their head and emerge defiant with the “one, two, three, four” of “Insomnia, which includes the stunning chorus
“and I will not sleep until you hold me, for I cannot dream anymore”.
The video for this has a riff at 3.42 at which point we freefall down from the sky, just incredible to see the images designed here.
There is something very Flyleaf, Smashing Pumpkins, and All About Eve(Julianne Regan) in the artistry and musical direction.
In the brief interlude we “Fall” and then “Drown” as we lie awake to find
“cradling me, the arms of halcyon seas”- such poetry and majesty through and through.
This album is dramatic in its concept and in its execution, as we close with “Love, Pt Ⅱ” and “Death, Pt Ⅱ” and the stake through the heart realisation of
“from roots to moons, I am inevitable”.
It has been an epic journey my friends, an odyssey even and now if you want me…
I’m in the cellar, darling……
Azra Pathan
Cellar Darling – The Spell out now on Nuclear Blast