‘Oh My Days’ is the latest long player from Stephen Cracknell’s THE MEMORY BAND which has been a going concern with various line-ups since 2003. This album showcases some excellent tracks and incisive lyrics.
‘Crow’ which opens the proceedings is a cello and bass driven instrumental which eases the listener in gently to the album. ‘A New Skin’ which follows is a brilliant folk blues all about change. There is a weariness here when Jess Roberts sings: -
“I’ve been crawling round on my belly, getting dirty for too many years.” This is all about making that transition: - “A new heart, a new beats, a new start, a new skin.” “I’ve grown a new skin.”
‘Run River Run is a countrified folk style song, with a slow tempo, and the violin high in the mix. Unusually there are six different vocal inputs on this providing some impressive harmonies.
‘Blackberry Way’ is an instrumental which is a bit more rock orientated and works well with electric guitar, violas and violins complementing each other.‘Electric Light’ meanwhile, is anything but light, a doomy, mournful track that appears to expect nothing but age, death and loss:- “I see your face in electric light; feel the shadows in the night/ And I wish for all the world, that I could make the time unfold/ If I could make it true, I would breathe for you.”
'Come Wander With Me’ is the first of three cover versions, this of a Jeff Alexander song. Here it takes on the mantle of an almost Gothic country song, the type of twilight zone that Nick Cave inhabits so well. There are some good his and hers harmonies which make this one stand out.
‘Apples’ is a straightforward slow country style song of the satisfying love song variety that leaves the listener with a warm feeling inside as the lyrics state that things: - “Don’t pull me so strong, as the path that leads me right to your door, my dear.”
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‘Some Things You Just Can’t Hide’ details just that in the lyrics, being an impassioned plea to: - “Tell me what you really think about me, give it to me straight.” It's succeeded by ‘Demon Days’ which is absolutely excellent, a darker country blues number with a hard driving percussive beat.
‘Ghosts’ with its opening harmonium melody immediately drew my thoughts towards Tom Waits, but this is used differently to create an atmospheric country song. After this there are two cover versions. I was initially surprised that they were placed together in the running order, but here it definitely does work.
The first is ‘Love is the Law’, a cover of a Graham Bond song. Here it is rooted out of the 1960s and given an almost timeless quality with some excellent slide guitar playing. ‘By The Time It Gets Dark’ is a Sandy Denny cover, which unlike the original, has the vocals very much stronger and in the forefront:- “Maybe every cloud has a silver lining, maybe every dog really has its day/ And it matters to me to see you smiling, why don’t we blow all our cares away?”
Finally, the album closes with ‘Snake’ a driving folk blues instrumental which provides the perfect full stop.
I must confess that I had never heard of The Memory Band previously, but that's my loss. With records as good as this, they’ll hardly be unknown for long.
The Harmony Band online
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