Sometimes out of the murky mist comes a beating drum
refusing to yield as it tramples over all comers on the most personal of
journeys. Banging that drum alongside etching a plethora of tunes out of the
fiddle and pipes arrives Skerrymore. This fully stocked Scottish folk rock band
have racked up the musical miles over an active decade and probably will long
into the future, but for one summer they have captured a timeless escape into
where music can lead the wandering mind. Five tunes and six songs only begin the
infatuation that sprang from left field. Instantly, the past, present and future intensely stirred. EVO is a heady mix of tub thumping instrumentals clearing
the path for a choice selection of invigorating anthems. Choose your label with
wild abandon. You can find pop, rock, folk and tradition, and even if you close
your eyes and stretch the mind, a saunter down Americana way. The flag will
come down on June 11th and then the procession will intensify.
While the original songs eventually hold sway on where this
album ends up, the structural support provided by the high-octane instrumentals
will certainly liven up any arena, field or hall. The album kicks off with a
combo piece titled ‘The Exorcists’ splitting
midway yet always awash with fiddle and pipes. A brace of tunes also see the
album out with the traditionally named ‘Soraidh
Slan’ leading into the rousing finale ‘The
Rise’. The other two vocal-less pieces strategically intersperse their
vocal-led cousins at the heart of the album with the vivacious ‘Trip to Modera’ joining the frenetic ‘Mile High’.
As valuable as these tunes are to EVO, and intrinsic to
Skerryvore’s traditional heritage, it is the songs that push the album into a
higher stratosphere, while exposing a sensitive touch of reflective nostalgia.
All six tracks will have their day as a ‘long hot hazy summer’ unfolds across
the British Isles, but three in particular may have just put their noses out
front first. ‘Live Forever’ has had a
previous existence and is justifiably given an extended lease of life as an
influx of crashing guitars permeate the infectious chorus immaculately sung
with luminous clarity. ‘Take My Hand’
is a track to get some early exposure via its nostalgia fuelled video and
played an important part in the early stages of adoring this record. Coming up
on the rails to just pip it on release day is the distinctly powerful identity
piece ‘At the End of the Line’,
gloriously summarised in the lyric ‘paradise is wherever your people are’.
Ultimately, paradise is a state of mind and if hairs do not stand to attention when
hearing this, therapy is suggested.
The trademark Skerrymore sound of blending traditional instrumentation
with contemporary rock tools is prevalent across each track. ‘Hold on’, at the very core of the
record, benefits from this at the start before another memorable chorus takes
root and chisels an extra notch in what should be a infatuating live
experience. ‘Borderline’ is a
straight up rocker, borderless in its origin and equally at home in a
collection of US heartland rock tunes as one representing the outpost of
western Scotland. ‘Waiting for the Sun’
completes the song offering and could just emerge to be the dark horse of the
record. Like its lyrically infused companions, the hook is immense and another
sure fire success whether belted out live or reverberating around your living
room.
Music plays an important part in marking out the past. While
Skerryvore scratches out the numbers 2-0-1-8 in the sand, it evokes memories of
earlier years when sound became the catalyst for recalling an era. EVO will be
heard loud and rousing across Britain, the US and Europe this summer. If it pierces
as deep elsewhere as here then it will be job done. An indisputable conclusion.
