Just get hold of this uncommonly fine album.
author: Dave Kidman
Angie Palmer - ROMANTICA OBSCURA (Akrasia PMCD. 2)
Angie's name isn't at all well-known outside the north-west UK (where she is very well-known), but all that ought by rights to change now, for there's an incredible sense of assurance and mature accomplishment about her current work that's obvious right from the outset on this, her second CD; This new release, though recognisably the work of the same artist, is quite different to her first, not only in that it's less overtly bluesy. Firstly, it consists entirely of her own songs, which indicates that Angie's defiantly growing in confidence. Secondly, Angie's here taken the opportunity to record with musicians from the Manchester scene - Mike Isaac (who works with Lyrica) on fretless bass is particularly good, then there's Chris Mannis (ex-Swing Out Sister, now with Apitos) on percussion, also drummer
Tim Franks, Graham Clark on violin and Rebecca Maunders on cello, and keyboardist Bill Roberts. Though from different musical arenas, they work together really well, and the instrumentation is well-considered and never unduly dominant, providing perfectly controlled settings for Angie's grittily expressive voice and doing her songs (the "hidden stories" to which the title neatly alludes) true justice. A lot of thought has gone into the arrangements, which cleverly vary texture and effect from the jazzy
organ-bop optimism of Notes From Underground to the darker, more introspective, even mournful mood of the last few tracks, like A Thousand Tales (where the string instruments bring in a delicate eastern modal feel that's really attractive), and the deceptively simple, deliciously
chamber-textured Waltz (which isn't quite!), whereas the swooping violin lines on From A Blue Plains View rather reminded me of Dylan circa Desire.
Angie acknowledges a debt to Joni Mitchell (Hissing/Hejira period), but nowhere does her own outstanding writing sound in the slightest bit imitative. Angie's music is hard to pigeonhole, nor would I wish to do so;
just get hold of this uncommonly fine album, you won't regret it.
(Contact: www.angiepalmer.com)
Dave Kidman ‘Net Rythmns’
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