Music diary, May 8, 2026
I had not listened to Jim Moray’s excellent re-imaginings of British folktsongs in a while so I was happy to notice he has a new album out. At which point I realized I had totally missed his previous release, Beflean, which updated and re-arranged his older stuff. So the last Jim Moray thing I had listened to had been The Outlander and that came out in 2019, I think. Time flies.
Well anyway… I’m very happy and actually pretty excited with Gallants. This time the overall soundscape leans to a folk rock direction, in a “Fairport Convention rebooted for the 21st century indie artist” sense. There are synths and loops along the way but they’re carefully woven into the band sound often led by Jim’s twangy electric guitar. And I’m quite surprised how well that particular sound fits the material; the tunes are either trad or just very old, but that twang guitar somehow feels very much at home in this material.
There are few moments on Gallants that pass as “folk music” in the strictest sense; for example, Spencer the Rover starts out as straight acoustic folk song but soon a brass section and drums hop onboard and transform the song. Ironically, it’s the album’s only original composition, Three Gallants, that best fits the folk label even with some nice electronic flourishes. It’s also one of my favorite tracks, enriched by Andy May’s beautiful, organ-like bagpipe melody and Niamh Flynn’s harp.
Aside from the inventive production, clever arrangements and Jim’s strong vocal delivery, I like the sequencing of the album. Flora (Lily of the West) kicks off the proceedings in a joyful acoustic groove, followed the frantic, drums-driven reading of When I Was a Little Boy and then lowering the temperature with the wonderfully atmospheric The Nightingale – that one is another favorite here; listen to it with your best headphones!
After many twists and turns Gallants arrives at Fortune Turns the Wheel, a Scottish song from the late 1800’s, performed here as an a cappella vocal ensemble arrangement. It’s a beautiful closure for an excellent work and also reflects our own time, so full of hatred and animosity:
But if some of my supposed friends, if friends you may them call,
Who falsely turned their back on me when mine was at the wall;
It’s in a glass I’ll drink their health—you’ll find I wish them well
That someday I may pay the debt when fortune turns the wheel.
Many moods, many stories, brilliant performances – this is how you take a tradition, revitalize it and bring it to the present. I love it – but I’m still not too taken with the cover photo 😄
https://jimmoray.bandcamp.com/album/gallants
FolkNotes 