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Marry Watersone and Oliver Knight - The Days That Shaped Me [Album]

One Little Indian

by AriadneTroubadour, February 4th, 2011 and has been Read 2227 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire February 7th, 2011.

Impressive British Folk scene history and familial association aside, The Days That Shaped Me is an interesting contribution to the modern British Folk scene in its own right. Sibling act Marry (Maria) Waterson and Oliver Knight will always be treated with a certain level of deference thanks to the standing of their mother, Lal Waterson within the British folk scene and in Knight’s case, the collaborative albums he made with her before her death. Coming together for the first time, brother and sister have created some lovely and haunting songs.

With an overall stripped back sound, much of the work is left to Marry’s voice to steer the songs with understated guitars and occasional appearances from piano’s and percussion. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere throughout which feels very intimate thanks to the echoing vocals and music, building the impression that it’s just you, Marry, Oliver and a handful of carefully picked extra contributors who have borne witness to the creation and performance of these songs.

Opening track ‘Father Us’ is incredibly gentle and quietly enveloping and was co-written by Kathryn Williams, who also co-wrote final track ‘Secret Smile’. As an opening number it is a beautiful song with an added softness to its quality created by the fragility of the vocal. It is a revealing choice by Waterson and Knight for the opening number and ushers in a major theme found within The Days that Shaped Me. Co-existing with the almost secretive, confiding tones of intimacy laced throughout, there’s also a feeling of musical generosity. Waterson and Knight are more than willing and comfortable enough to share the limelight with their fellow musicians in a gracious and unconscious spirit of musical altruism. It is obvious that to these pair, the quality and integrity of the music they produce is their only concern, a very refreshing quality in today’s image led culture.

Thanks in part to the input of the previously mentioned contributors, there is considerable variation to keep interest throughout. Reuben Taylor’s piano on ‘Run to Catch A Kiss’ adds a touch of bluesy melancholy in perfect partnership to Marry’s sighing vocals. A similar general sadness is found in ‘Windy Day,’ with its clarinet break and nostalgic lyrics.

‘The Loosened Arrow’ is perfectly formed despite having very few elements. Lead vocals are taken by Marry and Oliver’s cousin, Eliza Carthy and her rich, rolling tones combined with the simple fiddle accompaniment give the song an aged quality, as if it was an old Irish folk song rather than a contemporary creation. More diversity of sound is found in ‘Sleeping Flame,’ which edges towards a more experimental and harsher sound, with Waterson’s strong vocals accompanied by an electric guitar which stomps in at the chorus of what otherwise would be a fairly gentle song. Waterson and Knight return to the more traditional folk sounds with ‘Rosy’ which features lyrics written by Lal as does ‘Angels Sing,’ which she directly inspired.

The Days that Shaped Me is an interesting album, full of strength and fragility in equal measure with a diversity of sound and a certain quirkiness which lends it a unique quality. You’ll have to wait until March for its general release but, if it’s any consolation, it will undoubtedly prove an interesting addition and talking point for the British folk scene for a lot longer.