The starting gun has been fired and the second full length
album by Kim Lowings and the Greenwood is now fully available to the waiting
world. A packed gathering at an eclectic venue in Kim’s hometown of Stourbridge
provided the backdrop to the launch gig and the evening proved a resounding
success to all parties involved. The most important part of this event is to celebrate
the rewards of the endurance from making the album and set up the next phase of
spreading the joys of the record to a wider audience. Being amongst family,
friends and supporters can be as equally challenging as comforting for the
artist, but Kim can reap enormous satisfaction from how the events unfolded
which included a pair of sets from her temporarily enlarged band and the
opening set from good friends, Hicks and Goulbourn.
Scary Canary is a purpose fit new entertainment venue in the heart of Stourbridge and generally gears to more left field and underground music acts. It hasn’t yet branched out into hosting regular roots music nights, but possesses an intimate charm to be a useful addition to the West Midlands scene. The configuration proved a touch tricky in initially accommodating a large listening audience. However folks soon found ways to best view the proceedings which started shortly before eight and concluded a little after eleven.
The Greenwood has a fairly settled three piece back line
supporting Kim, but this evening the usual quartet was enhanced by the guest
appearances of Leon Gormley (Cittern) and Lewis Jones (mandolin and Swedish nickel
harp).This latter instrument played a substitute role for the violin which
illuminates a number of the tracks on the new record. It was business as usual
for the remainder of band with Tim Rogers playing his stoical role on Cajon and
percussion and Dave Sutherland driving the double bass and adding the backing
vocals. Last but certainly not least, Andrew Lowings has his usual quiet yet irreplaceable
presence on bouzouki and bodhrum.
The artistic package of Kim is evolving impressively as her
writing and song inspiration skills develop to match the beauty of her vocals
and highly crafted musical ability. The undoubted pressure of the evening, coupled
with the odd technical difficulty plus shaking off an unwanted ailment were all
dismissed with ultimate professionalism. Whether utilising her trademark
mountain dulcimer, standard acoustic guitar or rising supremely to the
challenge of the unaccompanied vocal piece, the effect was confident, assured
and entirely consistent.
The evening was obviously revolved around the new record
HISTORIA and ten of the eleven tracks featured across the two sets. Kim
followed the structure of the record by opening with ‘The Wood Wife’ before launching straight into the singalong track ‘Maggie’s Song’, which acts as the album’s
most ear-catching tune. Quite often stand out live tracks can differ from the
recorded originals and the most effective songs from the album to surface this
evening were ‘Lullaby’ and ‘Regrets’. The second had a set list
switch as Kim brushed off a minor technical difficulty to excel on this
excellent showpiece of her vocal skills.
‘Monsoon’ and the
instrumental piece ‘Alfrick’ were the
two other new tunes to appear in the first set which also saw her return to two
older numbers in ‘The Wonderful Mr.
Clarke’ and ‘New Moon’. The
latter of these two consisted of a re-work from its initial format and this
theme of band re-interpretation was also found in the set’s concluding number,
an original version of the standard traditional tune ‘The Cuckoo’. Running right
through the night was Kim’s enthusiastic introduction to a majority of the
songs selected, whilst sharing her passion for alternative folklore and the
lure of traditional song.
As if to make a statement that life after HISTORIA is
underway, Kim introduced a further new song after the break with ‘In Spirit’ proving the successful
culmination of her enchanted interest with folklore and this time, specifically
Russian inspired. The second half had started with a solo song from Leon
Gormley, before the band resumed roles and Kim revealing the source of her
anger song ‘I’m Still Here’. However
some onstage revelations remain such that. Following another song from the
album ‘Willow’ and a number simply
titled ‘Stay’, the remainder of the
set focussed on a batch of traditional tunes; some dark, some upbeat but always
forever folk.
‘Dark Eyed Sailor’
and ‘Bonny Labouring Boy’ both had
recorded versions added to the album, while Kim decided to base the gig climax
on two upbeat songs inviting the ubiquitous audience participation. ‘The Begging Song’ and ‘Away Ye Merry Lasses’ have become
staples of a Kim Lowings’ show and would be significantly missed if ever
removed. The enthusiastic and appreciative crowd refused to allow this to be
the evening’s close and Kim needed little persuasion to return to offer a
stunning version of ‘Annie Laurie’.
The sparkling video performance of this song has been Kim’s major online
selling tool for the last couple of years and hopefully the new record will
offer further opportunities to promote her talent by the wonderful world of this
popular medium.
With a desire to ensure her loyal supporters had a full
evening of entertainment, Kim invited the experienced North-East based roots
duo Hicks and Goulbourn to open the evening. Drawing influence from a wide
range of cross Atlantic sources, the virtuoso guitar-playing of Steve Hicks and
versatile vocal and musical offerings from Lynn Goulbourn combine to engage
their audiences with wit, fine music and entertaining song. Their confident persona set the bar high for
Kim and the guys to follow, but nothing was going to phase the band on their
big night.
The major task is now for Kim Lowings and the Greenwood to
successfully spread the word of HISTORIA and use a variety of mechanisms to
grow their live following and ensure the album has many new homes. The quality
of the product and the talent to convey it is undisputed. The music industry is
littered with miscarriages of justice, but there is a positive feeling that
this situation may not necessarily be the destination of HISTORIA and the wider
talents of Kim Lowings.
www.kimlowings.bandcamp.com
Review of Historia
