Daisy Chute's latest EP is something of a genre basher, even itunes seems unsure if it is Celtic, Folk or Classical - it probably falls a little outside our usual remit but sometimes something is so good that you need to let other people know about it. Last time we saw Daisy she was part of Hannah White's backing band on a thoroughly enjoyable night at the Lexington but this is miles away from that.
Essentially a batch of poems set to some truly joyful music that will dazzle and delight, the lyrics being from three female Scottish poets - i did say this was outside our normal remit!!
"Cradle Song" sees Daisy singing over an ever developing soundscape of fiddle, guitar and occasional piano. With Daisy'exceptional vocals it all goes to make something quite beautiful.
"Melancholy Air" is about mourning, and sees sweeping strings rise and fall majestically - it also appears as an instrumental version where it all but cries out to be placed as the theme song to a new BBC Bonnet drama, or a lavish Jane Austen film and if no-one has done that yet then someone needs to write something for this exquisite piece of music to accompany,
"Mary's Song" of unrequited love is probably the closest to a modern tune, the lyrics though ancient still carry as much feeling as the day they were first penned - even with their original pronounciation.Daisy's lingering tender vocals set things off perfectly on this magnificanet collection.
"I wad ha’e gi’en him my lips tae kiss, Had I been his, had I been his; Barley breid and elder wine, Had I been his as he is mine. The wanderin’ bee it seeks the rose; Tae the lochan’s bosom the burnie goes; The grey bird cries at evenin’s fa’, ‘My luve, my fair one, come awa’.’ My beloved sall ha’e this he’rt tae break, Reid, reid wine and the barley cake, A he’rt tae break, and a mou’ tae kiss, Tho’ he be nae mine, as I am his"