Honey and the Bear are a Suffolk-based duo comprising of husband and wife combo Lucy and Jon Hart. They join a lengthy and distinguished list of outfits in a similar set up across the contemporary folk music genre and are certainly an act that matches up well with what the best has to offer. You could easily add that their third release and second full album has such a seasoned sound to it that it is likely to rub shoulders with those usually in the running for the annual awards the industry bestows on its luminaries. Ultimately JOURNEY THROUGH THE ROKE is an album that probes, illustrates, reflects and explores, all within a solid template that is true to the folk music core of instrument diversity.
The first thing you learn from peering behind the scenes of Lucy and Jon's work is the word 'roke' is an old East Anglian word referring to a fog emanating from the marshes of a part of England that partly due to to its flatland demeanour is often forgotten. However with advocates like Honey and the Bear uncovering the stories, lore and issues, the area can flourish at least within the ear and minds of those tuned in to this record.
It barely takes seconds into the opening track to introduce the beauty of the voices and the purity of an effective harmony. '3 Miles out' is the archetypal folk story song that is engaging to read about and then subsequently brought to life with a musical soundtrack. The watery theme to this song is replicated later in the album as the duo comb the East Anglian coast for song inspiration.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE ROKE certainly doesn't leave the punter shortchanged with twelve tracks lasting in excess of fifty minutes and a host of instrument inclusions peppering the canvas. The Hart's take the songwriting co-credit on all but one of the tracks. You can't have a folk album without the obligatory traditional piece and Lucy excels on vocal lead as they re-interpret the Irish oldie 'My Lagon Love'.
On a couple of occasions, the duo do expand from the focussed area of their intent with a tribute to David Attenborough in 'Life on Earth' and celebrating mixing with other cultures on their travels in 'Sweet Honey'. In fact the first of this duo is among the tracks that catch the ear prominently on first listen with its catchy credentials. You could even allude that we head in a slightly Americana direction in the latter. Elsewhere there are further features on environmental issues in 'Buried in Ivy' and 'Unless We Start It', to once again fall in line with a common folk agenda of tackling the green agenda through the powerful medium of song.
Outside the aforementioned tracks to date, there is a hugely appealing and almost dark soulful feel to the splendid 'The Miller' where the Tide Mill' in Woodbridge is brought to the fore in song.
On the way to sealing their place among the lofty ranks of leading female-male folk duos plying the club, festival and arty scene, Honey and the Bear deliver an ode to locations, land, story and cause. JOURNEY THROUGH THE ROKE raises numerous thought provoking moments while revealing a talented duo at one with what they intend to achieve. This is definitely a record that achieves in reaching its audience in fine fettle and sinks into the psyche like all good folk albums do.