35
Recorded live and featuring contributions from Raymond McGinley (Teenage Fanclub), Chris Geddes (Belle and Sebastian), Stevie Jones (Arab Strap), Tim Davidson (Traceyanne & Danny), Adam Stearns (Trembling Bells) and Stuart Kidd (BMX Bandits), Descendant is the third album from Snowgoose featuring the core duo of Jim McCulloch (The Soup Dragons) and Somerset-born vocalist Anna Sheard which embraces a distinctive 80s Scottish indie-pop feel but also touches on the jazz-folk vibe of Pentangle. It’s the summery, infectious folksy pop side of the equation that opens proceedings with the tumbling chords and catchy refrain of the title track, a call for communication in relationships (“I lie awake reflecting on you/Facing mistakes for those I’m not proud…I’m willing to listen/You speak your truths I’ll stay true to mine”) before getting moodier with the bass-pinned psych-folk Salix which, as any self-respecting gardener will know, is the Latin name for willow and, as the lyrics say, “a symbol for healing, a symbol for hope”, the propagation through its floating white seeds providing the songs metaphorical intent of new possibilities.
A hollow drum sound anchors the weaving melody and progressive pastoral folk of The Fall with, again touching on communication breakdowns, its dark lyrics (“Met the devil, caught the raven by your side/My mother, she told me not to go/My father, he told me take it slow/Stay home unburden your load/Too many days have fallen to despair”) and a sound reminiscent of cult 70s folk-rock outfit Trees. That underlying psychedelic folk thread can also be traced through the slow walking rhythm of the otherworldly Down The Line and its theme of loss (“Past in peace in your sleep you deserve to/Hold our hands to the sky/I’m left wondering, wondering why/I’m left wondering, wondering why/Too young, too young to die”).
A languid and bluesier slow waltz miasma envelops Good Medicine, which flirts with images of addiction (“Achingly conscious of this craving I feel … Rivers of gold are rapidly flowing/I will dissolve wrapped around you/Slowly but surely we head to decline/Constant attention but the pleasure was mine…Got me good medicine/Now I’m begging for more”).
With an airier, upbeat melody that belies its title and lyrics (“Ships drift on by, I missed my turn/Held myself down ignored the light…so many things against the tide/You dragged me down once before”), Sorrow again harks back to the days of 70s folk when Drake and Bunyan were the benchmarks for aspiring troubadours. In contrast, the rhythmically plodding opiate sway of Bewildered Dance (“In cement we are bonded but …I just can’t seem to understand/The way you go… you make it hard/Whilst I try to find a way to go”) conjures the heady formative Fairport years filtered through a hazy Laurel Canyon prism.
There are more hollow drums for the dreamy la-la-la-ing chorale instrumental Fugue State before Sheard’s mesmerising voice (think the smokier side of Nancy Sinatra with a Scottish edge) returns for Call For Peace, essentially a timely protest song (“Compromise is no defeat for freedom/In your madness you deny the voice of reason/Your callous mind attempts to fool us all/Swept aside, ignored the signs of conflict/Hope in silence, you may hear our shalom”).
The Pentangle jazzy folk influences are most potent on the midtempo title track, a reminder that as conflict engulfs, answers only prompt more questions and judgements are clouded, “In the end/We all return to matter/To ground from which we started/To dust from which we’ve grown”. Finally, evocative more of a New York loft than a Glasgow tenement, comes the tender piano-based late-night soulful Wings of Glory with its simple yearning for love sentiments: “It’s not the words you say/It’s what I see in your eyes…I’ll hold out my arms/You’ll place your lips on mine/Trust my body/Confessions of the heart/This is a song of love”. Sheard has said the album offers “a reflection on the beauty and pain of impermanence”, but their intoxicating music is a far from transitory experience. Outstanding.
Descendant (18th October 2024) Violette Records
Order links: https://linktr.ee/snowgoose
Snowgoose Headline Tour
Full Band Shows with Special Guests:
Monday, 14th October Queens Hall, Edinburgh Thursday,
17th October Old Hairdressers, Glasgow Acoustic Co-
Headline Shows with Eugene Kelly:
Friday, 18th October Central Bar, Gateshead
Saturday, 19th October Art Bank, Shepton Mallet
Sunday, 20th October The Waiting Rooms, London
Monday, 21st October The Prince Albert, Brighton
Tuesday, 22nd October Leaf, Liverpool
