One Band A Month

I think I was probably about  10 and on holiday in Wales. I remember it vividly, it was sunny day and a small gathering had formed to attend a village Folk festival. If I remember rightly I was dragged there by my dad who informed me it was the event of the year in the village and we should go. I was more interested in saving the Earth with my new ‘ Eagle Eyes ‘ action man, however I was taken kicking and screaming. But the memory holds well with me as the music on the day was nothing like this  11 year old had heard before, Its Folk Music my Dad informed me.

 

And back to the present day.

 

I sit here with a new CD from Jessica’s Ghost called ‘ The Winning Hand ‘. Now although I have already made a Folk Music reference, I personally wouldn’t say that Jessica’s Ghost are a full on Folk band, however there is an undercurrent of Folk in their sound, which is no bad thing. I have seen Jessica’s Ghost play live a number of times now and I have always been impressed with the sound they create live, having a Cello and a Mandolin in the mix can sometimes be a tricky one, but they have always managed to pull it off. The tunes on the CD are impressive and after a number of listens they tend to work their way into your head and remain. “Mr Madison” offers a beautiful drifting song with great vocals and a rather fine mix of accordion and band instruments. I believe the song is based on the album title “The Winning Hand “ about a poker player being buried with a winning hand, but I’ll leave that up to the band to explain.

“Breakdown” I really really like. Reading the title I was expecting the worse, however the song itself is an upbeat tune with lyrics “ I’ll live to fight another day” and “ I’m sick and tired I’ve had my fill “ suggesting that the writer has got through the worse and moving on ! The Vocals from Emma reminded very much of Lilly Allen , that may raise an eyebrow with the band, but it’s very personable and delivered with a crisp snap. If you buy the CD and then go and check out the band live you will get pretty much what you hear on the CD.

I know in the past I have listened to demos and then gone to see bands live and they are unable to replicate the sound, which normally leaves me feeling a bit cheated and shrugging my shoulders not dissimilar to an Italian being asked for directions. “Leaving Town” reminds me of a Pogues tune, I could easily see them banging this one out whilst spilling several pints of Guinness. 

Which I suppose brings me back to the question  - are Jessica’s Ghost Folk music. No definitely not, absolutely no...well maybe... they could be. “Summertime” I would have liked to see this track as the Album Title Track, purely from a marketing perspective and the fact that this tune has ‘ Radio Song ‘ slapped right across its arse. If you don’t have a Jessica’s Ghost CD in your collection, do yourself a favour, go buy one – www.jessicasghost.co.uk