With Mumford and Sons winning Best Band at the 2013 Brit Awards, it appears the folk genre is finally taking a step into the limelight. Recognising that the timing is perfect, STEVE BONHAM releases The Moons High Tide - an album that mixes the best of English, Irish and world folk and combines them to produce an album totally of its time.
A highlight from the album, You might be Right, is the embodiment of easy listening. The combination of fiddle, accordion and Steve's deep, soulful voice paint a musical canvas that sounds like summer. Lyrically, you get the impression the song was written by someone who has really lived. And that impression would be correct; having spent a lot of time hard up and broke the band spent time sleeping on the floor of British Rock legend Jethro Tull's studio floor at one stage.
Another track that really stands out from the album is the beautiful Somewhere in the Blue. With quite an upbeat melody juxtaposed with melancholic, resigned lyrics; the track is subtle, but heartfelt and quite touching. Ex-Saw Doctor Pearse Doherty and Jimmy Higgins (who also played with The Saw Doctors and Irish band Altan) lend their talents on bass and percussion respectively.
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With a Geordie mother, and a father from Hampshire, but both sides of the family having some of their origins in Ireland, Steve has a lot of heritage to draw on as musical inspiration. "My song The Town I Never Knew is about my Grandfather who worked in the Swan Hunter Ship Building Yards as a boilermaker and supplemented periods of unemployment and poverty playing the Harmonica and writing and presenting monologues," he says.
Overall, a great new album. You'd be crazy not to treat yourself to a copy, settle down for the evening and spend some time in the company of some beautiful music.
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