‘Sing Unto Me’ is the latest release from MOULETTES, taken from the forthcoming album ‘The Bear’s Revenge’ which is released later this month. I have to say that on the strength of this single it should be a cracking album.
Moulettes are a progressive folk rock band that were formed in 2002, and comprise Hannah Miller (vocals, cello, guitar), Ruth Skipper (vocals, bassoon , autoharp) Georgina Leach on violin, Oliver Austin on drums and guitar, Rob Acari (percussion) Jim Mortimer (a multi instrumentalist) and Faye Houston on vocals. In addition to this, this E.P. and the album sees the return of Ted Dwane from Mumford & Sons and Laura Hockenhull from The Copper Family, as well as several guest musicians!
So, with a cast like that, how good is the actual E.P? The answer comes in a word – brilliant. There are six tracks on the E.P., which lasts just over half an hour. Opening track is the wonderful ‘Sing Unto Me’, a joyous and uplifting slice of modern folk rock with some of the best vocal harmonies I’ve heard in a while. The lyrics follow traditional folk patterns : - “Caught up the river, take my hand/ Sing of the things we can’t understand/ Sing, sing, sing unto me.” What cannot be expressed upon paper is the sheer zest that the band put into this, which makes this a really catchy tune, one that you’ll be singing along to within minutes, and one that hopefully should get some heavy air play.
Following this is ‘A capella’, which relies on very minimal instrumentation and some excellent vocals making this a slightly sombre Baroque masterpiece. The vocals are very well layered here and tell the tale of a life of love and loss: “I have lost and loved before, once more. I fear I hear the knock on my door.
Oh, careworn and sad at heart, carefully turn me back to the start.” This is a haunting track, which features Rioghnach Connolly from Honeyfeet on guest vocals, and uses a Norwegian nyckelharpa, which is a type of keyed fiddle in case you were wondering.
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‘Are You Going Away To Sea?’ is another great track, starting as an acoustic guitar lament: - “Are you going away to sea? Who’s gonna keep a watchful eye on me? Oh don’t you be so hard headed, don’t be so hasty. Or have you already forsaken me?”
Immediately after this, the song changes with the words of “Oh the life of the pirate is the life I choose” and becomes a thoroughly enjoyable Gypsy jazz romp with violin and upright bass to the fore.
The fourth track on the E.P. is titled ‘Assault’ and is a duet, or should that be duel? between Georgina Leach on violin and Hannah Miller on cello, with both instruments trying to outdo each other.
The final two tracks on the E.P. are alternate versions of ‘Sing Unto Me’, the first being the Wax 22 remix, which is a dub-step version(!) and features heavy electronic drums and bass, which makes this a curious oddity, but none the worse for that. The final version is a cover by Sam Walker (a sometime Moulette) from The Muel and offers a different take on some classic folk.
Well, when I opened this one, I certainly didn’t expect something so well crafted with such memorable tracks. I have to take my hat off to them. This is well worth buying, even if you’re going to purchase the album as well, as the B-sides are certainly not filler, and this lot certainly stand head and shoulders above the rest in this genre.
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