T his is a cd that, according to Jon Boden, “might well obtain us removed from the English Individual Dancing & Track Culture”– the offense being that it consists of no tunes regarding fatality. Videotaped throughout lockdown, when Boden and also co-creator John Spiers were trying to find “enjoyable and also light alleviation”, Fallow Ground is noteworthy for its levity and also, yes, joyousness. As its title recommends, the document notes a go back to earlier times, when the duo– Boden on fiddle and also vocals, Spiers on accordion– initially made their name. The majority of their power has actually given that been guided right into individual large band Bellowhead, while Boden has actually supplied a dystopic prog-folk track cycle, Tunes from the Floodplain, amongst an excessive line of jobs.
Comparative, Fallow Ground is archly typical, its numbers attracted from antique resources, boosted by a clutch of originals. Several items are lively instrumentals– jigs, hornpipes, waltzes– with fiddle and also accordion blood loss right into each morris-friendly and also various other rhythms cannily caught. In other places, Boden brings his common strength to tunes varying from the love phone call of the title track to Reynardine, which is packed however death-free with shape-shifting hazard. It’s all remarkably played– both are still the dons.
-
Spiers & Boden tour the UK from 28 September to 24 October