The Missing Star is Lunatraktors second album of broken folk that's been recorded in the Kent countryside near canterbury co-produced with Julian Whitfield and with some strings by Caravan legend Geoffrey Richardson. This continues the bands tradition of re-working and adapting old folk songs for the times we are living in.
The album opens with the very topical re-jigging of Rigs Of The Times a folk song from the early 1800's as they sing about Brexit, Covid and how honesty is out of fashion when it comes to the actions of our lords and masters, over there percussive broken folk with pump organ this sums up our times rather eloquently.
My Witch is sparse acapella duet in praise of someone who is thought to be a witch but well may not actually be a witch adapted from a poem by Nicholas Breton written in 1617.
Lover Lover Lover is a rich enticing version of the Leonard Cohen classic that has some rather gorgeous strings from Geoffrey Richardson as well as the bands trademark percussion to enchant the object of your desire who has left you.
Mirie It Is (Anemoia) is a short musical interlude that leads straight into The Missing Star that reminds me of Confessions of Dr Dream by Kevin Ayers musically in places, as they sing about the mess of fake news and the media priests running and ruining the world. The lyrics are adapted from the speeches of The Conservative Party and The Brexit Party, this is haunting and a powerful use of the words to damn those uttering them in the first place.
Drone Code is played on a Korg monologue analogue synth and Singing Bowl that is used to almost tap out a morse code message of distress for the world in general.
The Keening is a rather beautiful take on the traditional Irish Pre-Christian traditional vocal mourning cry and is adapted from the Keening Of The Three Mary's with the pump organ providing a gentle drone accompaniment.
Unquiet Grave re-works and adapts three old folk songs from 1400 to the 1870's into a new traditional folk song railing against the uncaring callous politicians of Westminster as they withdraw benefits from the sick and disabled, many of whom have died, due to the policies of austerity. Carli Jefferson's percussion on this song and the way they work with Clair Le Couteurs synth really remind me of Nico and the Faction.
The Exciseman brings an old 18th century tune up to date, to the miasma of charges and forms to be filled out post Brexit, as we try to continue trading and negotiating ever more labyrinthine forms and processes, as we all wonder if we are doing things correctly or not as we try to keep The Exciseman either at bay or happy.
For anyone who has seen Lunatraktors live will already be familiar with live favorite 16,000 miles, the bands reworking of the Irish-Australian emigration ballad, as they tell the tale of hardship and the hard scrabble life of the new arrival breaking rocks in the hot sun, this is intoxicating and stirring.
The Madness That Soothes is a solo improvisation using tongue Drums that is rather alluring. The Blacksmith is a fuller version of this traditional folk song, as they found an old broadsheet version with some extra lyrics, to the tale of The Blacksmith and his love, this is an acapella duet as the sad tale unfolds.
The album closes with a slow reading of Ecclesiastes 1.1-18 set to piano and minimal drums with Clair le Couteur's vocals at times sounding like a cantor as the lyrics still remain totally relevant to our times as they were when originally written over 2000 years ago.
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