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I am completely bowled over by the new five-and-a-bit song EP, Selkie Child, by singer-songwriter, Michelle Laverick. When I call her a songwriter, she’s far more than simply that: she’s a consummate storyteller in the mould of – for instance – 70s folk icon, Bob Pegg. She has the same ability to harmoniously weave together many disparate strands: the arcane and uncanny, a keen sense of place, universal themes rooted in her own experience. These elements combine to bring us a personal mythology where nothing is quite as it seems.
There’s a sly nod towards traditional folk in Michelle’s shapeshifting, folkloric tales. Drawing on everything from fabulous sea creatures to the post-industrial landscape of her native North East to the poetry of T. S. Eliot, she conjures up new ways of imagining old stories. This is particularly so on the powerful opener, Selkie Child, or on her haunting, unsettling rewriting of The Butcher’s Daughter, where familiar floating verses take on new meanings.
Elsewhere, the delicately pretty The Mercy dips a toe in the waters of Americana, while Sweet Tees, another bittersweet homage to home, has a widescreen, almost anthemic appeal that – surprisingly – evokes the more reflective end of 90s British indie (hello Starsailor, hello The Verve). The Heart’s Forest, meanwhile, begins with a beautiful raga-eque guitar figure and builds to a powerful, poignant chorus: “Goodbye Cruel Britannia, from all those you betrayed, we didn’t know what we had until they took it away”.
All the songs are given plenty of time and space to unfold – in fact, at 30 minutes long, it’s more of a short album than an EP. The string arrangements by Jas Scott have echoes of Robert Kirby’s work with Nick Drake and Shelagh McDonald, and are particularly lovely on the closer, a reprise of Selkie Child. Michelle’s guitar playing is complex and melodic, yet understated enough to remain sympathetic to – and never threaten to overwhelm – the centrality of the songs.
In keeping with some sort of tradition, the accompanying booklet includes lyrics, chords and simple notation for those wishing to have a go at playing the songs themselves. I really do hope the people take her up on this offer – in Michelle Laverick, we have another talented storyteller to join the illustrious ranks of North East song makers. Just maybe, in the magical world she has invited us to enter, cherries will one day grow on apple trees.
Selkie Child (EP) (1st September 2024 – Self Released
