I utterly enjoyed the Suffolk folkies and singer-songwriters Lucy and Jon Hart’s, aka Honey and the Bear, previous outing, their second album Journey Through the Roke (2021, my review can be read here). It was my first encounter with them and I was now very happy to press play on their new release.
Away Beyond The Fret does not mark any dramatic shift in their very welcoming, carefully arranged style. Not dramatic, mind you, but there is something that I feel is a wee bit different compared to what I heard in 2021.
I actually went back to Journey… to check out if my instinct was correct. And I think it was. The songs are great, lyrically too, as they were on Journey, but there’s a new… I dunno, a bounce and a swing here, a really nice and effortless, natural pulse to the music. This wasn’t quite there on Journey… but it’s here from the first bars of the opening Dear Grandmother and even more strongly on 5500 Miles that comes after it, and throughout the album.
To me, in the middle of the darkest Finnish winter, this album feels like springtime, even when the lyrics are not all sunshine and flowers on every track. I tend to “see” music, to an extent, especially colors, and this one for me is decidedly green, the light green of early May in the Nordics.
Even the quieter songs are never static or flat; The Mighty Oak (which is connected to the cover art) glides beautifully on the excellent guitarwork and the luminous arrangement that uses an electric guitar most tastefully.
My favorites on Away Beyond The Fret are the empowerment anthem Daughter that just glows with inner strength (I find this quite moving, to be honest); The Trying with it’s strong 6/8 swing and a melody and vocal harmonies I just love; the peaceful and gentle atmosphere of The Suffolk Hero, and the wonderfully optimistic, happily bouncing Make This Land Our Home – that one also comes a Scottish-flavored instrumental break, always a plus in my books 😉
Oh dear – I think I really love this album. It’s December 30 as I’m writing this but it has already put some spring sunshine into this house.
https://honeyandthebear.co.uk/product/away-beyond-the-fret-album-cd/
https://honeyandthebear.co.uk/product/away-beyond-the-fret-album-digital/
FolkNotes 