Blueflint live somewhere in the Twilight Zone of bluegrass.
They are from Edinburgh but while their sound is, ostensibly, 'traditional' folk it exists beyond the standard Celtic connections.
This is the second album from a band which showcases the melodic vocal harmonies of Deborah Arnott and Clare Neilson. Both also play banjo and they are accompanied by Hugh Kelly on double bass and Clare's brother Roddy, of Peatbog Fairies, on fiddle.
Additional instruments include ukulele, trombone, drums and pedal steel. They become a five-piece with the addition of a drummer for gigs.
All twelve tracks are originals, six written by Deborah, four by Clare and two by Roddy.
The album was recorded 'live' in the studio with the aim of recreating the energy and spontaneity of their sound.
On first hearing, the songs seem like the kind of toe-tapping tunes designed to keep you warm on the chilliest of nights (and coming from Scotland, cold weather figures constantly in their lyrics).
Upon closer inspection, however, things are not so cheery and comforting as they first appear.
The romantic theme of songs like the brisk opening track (Light In The Window) and the frisky Take Off Your Shoes lull you into a false sense of security.
Love may also warm the soul of a woman in the dark and bleak Barren Lands of the closing track but , for the most part, relationships run aground or else end in tragedy, sometimes both.
Take High Country, for instance. This begins as a tender ode to the singer's homeland ("I know I will and die in this high country"() but then you realise that the song's narrator is no longer of this world. She is a victim of some dark deed by some mysterious stranger(s) : "now I lie beneath the stars, my blood runs in the earth".
No more cheery is Mary, written and sung by Roddy Neilson. This is the sad story of a neglected daughter who grew up glued to the TV and dreaming of stardom. She becomes unrecognisable after cosmetic surgery leaving the forlorn father to lament: "now it's too late and I'm dying".
Roddy's other song on the record is Bottlebank in which the removal of empty bottles from the home he shared with a hard drinking "special" friend signifies the bitter conclusion of yet another failed relationship.
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Mr Lovealie is the tale of another lost soul; that of a woman who meets a sticky end when the man of the title proves to be the flipside of Mr Right : "the promise of a life and a warm embrace that wrapped around her throat, choking all the air from her disbelieving stare".
Given this track record, you fear, with some justification, that the subject of I Climbed A Mountain has gone so high in order to throw himself off ("I asked the wind to carry me").
Suicide is also on the agenda with the title track. I have no idea what a maudy tree is but as it is the hanging place of another ill-fated lover, it probably best to remain in ignorance.
It comes as something of a relief when the fond memory of a dance floor encounter, The Last Waltz, has no obvious sting in the tail.
If all this sounds bleak and depressing, then it should be noted that the arrangements are bright and breezy with an upbeat mood as if to compensate for the miserable stories they recount.
There's humour too. In 'Missed The Boat', a woman regrets taking her man for granted ("I kept you in your place, I thought that you would stay there") and, best of all, there's a wonderfully vindictive break up song P45 where the termination of employment is the least of a man's worries as his ex warns "I'll be the P in you P45, the dog shit on your shoe" and confesses "I'd love to choke you".
All in all, these curious tales of the unexpected make for a fun but bizarre mix of darkness and light; maybe that's what 'maudy' means!
Blueflint's Website
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