BBC Review
Among the more ambitious and radical post-millennial takes on the genre.
Jon Lusk2004
Like his well received debut Sweet England, this second album from one of the current poster boys for English folk music is among the more ambitious and radical post-millennial takes on the genre.
Not only does Moray play everything except the orchestral parts, but he gives the largely traditional songs wildly varied and often incongruous arrangements. With nary a hint of the hey-nonny-no phrasing so many nu-folkies still seem tied to, he sings the ancient lyrics as if they are for contemporary songs, sometimes partially burying them in his own production, as pop lyrics often demand.
The over-produced "My Sweet Rose" is the less successful of two original songs and "Who's The Fool?" is bombastic. However, the sequencing is shrewd, and highlights include the Beach Boys-style falsetto on "Gilderoy", his engaging electric guitar noodling on "Dog + Gun" and the keyboard arpeggios and glockenspiel of "Nightvisiting", which recalls the work of Yann Tiersen.
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