CD Review
This aptly titled debut is a refreshing, energetic collection of original and traditional tracks by this young English group from the Scottish border. Tarras succeeds in blending traditional roots with classical precision and contemporary influences like R&B. There are three traditional tunes here plus six original instrumentals and four new songs. The songs evoke economic hard times, a less antic version of the glimpses we got in the movieTrain Spotting:
caught in the bright lights of the city
a long way from the slow burn of the Old Town
only the dead flowers and the blackbirds
survive on this merry-go-round
(from "Whiskey Town")
And there are echoes of Woody Guthrie's "1913 Massacre" in their "Oakey Strike Convictions," which begins:
aye it was November and ah never will forget
when the polices and the candymen at Oakey houses met
Johnny the bellman, he was there
he was squintin' rondaboot
and they put three men on every door to turn the miners out
The narrative style is terse and allusive and there are no notes accompanying the album or the songs. As with all genuine folk music, these songs are written for a local audience, a community of listeners who share a common world, a common history, a common language. To fully enter this world requires a bit of imagination and a bit of research, though their page on Rounder offers only a teaser. Tell me what you find out. -HB