Because of its simplistic nature, this album for me is all about the songwriting. Guitar, banjo and drums are the only setting you get for POLLY BARRETT'S songs and so I would prefer to call this music ‘naturalistic’ . Well, it’s better than calling it folk music, which it isn’t. So the question becomes how good are the melodies and lyrics, and consequently, the voice as messenger?
Polly has a crystal clear voice that never falters and that is, in it’s very essence, naturalistic. Unhurried, untroubled and at ease with itself. Her lyrics often touch on nature and love for that matter. "Valentines and hawthorn gold/fields on fire and amber light" (February)... "There’s one in the river here/and one in the river there" (Synchronicity)... "I see spring at the tip of every flower and branch I see/there’s a smile on my face now/I don’t know where it’s been" (Spring Fever)..."Meet me tomorrow down by the river/up on a mountain top/and don’t waste a minute of your time" (Weak). The poor girl must be pooped. Good job she doesn’t live in Nepal.
It’s also a very lyrical album. The words have been worked on, chiselled down to poems. A minor criticism might be that the album is trying too hard to be literary and clever, but that would be harsh as you can really hear the effort that has gone into it. Personally I like Mr Bookshop, but songs can of course strike the same effect with someone by being stupid and not about anything or by saying hardly anything at all. Sunday’s Well has a great melody and on it Polly Barrett gives what is perhaps her strongest vocal performance. Time Machine – Polly goes metal!
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In some ways this album is reminiscent of Tracy Chapman’s first album. Location is everything though so whilst Tracy wanted a fast car to get her out of here, Polly’s time machine remains tethered to her landscape.
Polly Barrett on MySpace
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