A Different Thread – High Time EP
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| A Different Thread - High Times EP |
Release Date: Out Now
Lichfield. Not necessarily the
hot bed of musical talent you might expect the sound of delicate genius to come
from but then I heard A Different Thread and my perceptions of Lichfield changed.
Join me on this journey, won’t you? The trio open with ‘Cherry Tree’ and it’s a
slow, lumbering country folk number that you just need to close your eyes to
listen to. Closed? Good, now picture a warm, still afternoon in the foothills
of the Appalachian Mountains with a wooden stoop, a banjo, a harmonica, a
fiddle and just enough energy to pick out a tune and sing a ditty or two. On ‘Long
in the Tooth’, the band take the pace down another notch if that’s possible to swoon
and lament as the candles are puffed out and the doors locked tight for the
evening. Sad, sweet and completely enveloping.
Things start to kick up on ‘Sweet
Elizabeth’ as a low, grumbling Cello groan is met by the forlorn and slightly
angry acoustic notes which suggests there is a storm brewing on the horizon but
despite all the threat it never quite cracks the sky wide open. ‘High Time’
makes perfect use of some beautiful finger picking courtesy of Robert Jackson
along with the vocal harmonies of Jackson and bandmate Alicia Best – it’s
genuinely beautiful. Finally, there’s a knees-up awaiting at the end with ‘Banjo
Tune’ that I am seriously considering having as my alarm such is it’s jaunty
and generally uplifting sense of fun. So, preconceptions changed and Lichfield
firmly added to my musical map but you have to wonder how so much Americana
managed to worm its way in to a trio based just north of Birmingham.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/adifferentthread/
Live Dates:
14th October – The Guildhall, Lichfield
10th November – George IV, Lichfield
17th November – The Greyhound Inn, Lichfield
1st December – The George Tavern, London