Album Review: The Old Dance School - Forecast (Transition)

With the follow up to The Old Dance School's debut BASED ON A TRUE STORY (2008) this fine seven-piece mini orchestra has once again created a memorable piece of work in FORECAST. Handsomely packaged in a beautifully photographed sleeve, depicting the old disused Point of Ayr lighthouse at Talacre Beach, carefully airbrushed to remove any trace of the intrusive wind turbines upon the horizon, the front cover provides a distinctly desolate feel. In the informative sleeve notes, this mood is maintained with its liberal scattering of references to nature; its mulchy beech woods, black barnacled pinnacles and chilly sea mists, all evoking a close liaison with the natural world, which the music attempts to mirror.

Collectively showcasing their various musical influences from traditional and contemporary folk, classical orchestrations and jazz inflected motifs, this particular gathering of friends, all of whom have passed through the Birmingham Conservatoire at some point, has created a gorgeously rich landscape upon which to tread. Predominantly instrumental, the album explores the relationships between the senses, how the music relates to the landscapes and seascapes, with rich and evocatively moody passages.

Whilst Samantha Norman and Helen Lancaster's The Wire Over the River combines two tunes inspired by both Cumbria and Teeside, essentially the western and eastern shores of North England, then Passage to Spike Island evokes the rocky shores of Wales together with the nostalgic memories from Robin Beatty's youth. Complementing the tunes are the three songs included on FORECAST, two from Beatty's pen, The Real Thing and Strange Highway and an uplifting take on Sydney Carter's John Ball, recently re-worked by Chris Wood, but in this case, a much more vivacious version; Good Morning Starshine with a bright golden haze on the meadow. What really works is Beatty's contemporary vocal, which is a pleasant antidote to the current desire of folk singers to emulate Peter Bellamy over and over; not that there's anything wrong with that. 

If Andy Cutting's sprightly Spaghetti Panic showcases Tom Chapman's percussion skills on the Cajon, with its breathtaking climatic build, then the sublime Little Lewis offers a moment of pastoral beauty. There's a distinct feel that each musician offers the best of themselves individually and collectively throughout the album. Aaron Diaz provides some delightful trumpet passages which are more akin to the modal jazz experimentation of Miles Davis than the current trend for making brass a noisy racket in folk music. With Calum Malcolm's empathetic production and the band's careful attention to detail, FORECAST raises the game yet again in a musical field that currently is arguably at its best. 

So the forecast for the next few weeks is that there will be outbreaks of CD buying at concerts, scattered signings with clear and dry spells; Precipitation not expected.      

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	The Old Dance School Forecast Transition 2010-07-19 £11.99