Folk’s connection to the mythic and magical traditions of our isles has been in the ascendant for several years, spurred on by cinematic “folk horror” and the lingering influence of The Wicker Man. This debut from singer Liz Overs is thick with pagan references – unsurprising given that shehas hosted a monthly radio show devoted to Sussex folklore, and has for years sung with local group Chalk Horse Music.
Opening track Prayer to the Year salutes the winter solstice; the final song reveres a little-seen nightbird. Overs sings in a small, bright voice given heft by occasional double-tracking and by classy accompaniments from Neill MacColl (guitars) and Ben Nicholls (bass, banjo) among others. Between them and Overs’s sprightly autoharp they create a hushed atmosphere laden with mystery, whether Overs is hymning lunar cycles on Snow Moon or coaxing elementals on Fairy Charm, while voices whisper and shimmer in the undergrowth.
To counter such mysteries come a clutch of traditional numbers: Cruel Sister and Bramble Briar are a pair of especially bloody murder ballads while Bad Girl laments a “fallen woman” hovering at death’s door ‘“all dressed in white linen”. A cunningly executed tribute to Albion Dreamtime.
