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Kate Jacobs – You Call That Dark
It’s six years since Kate’s last album, the stunningly good ‘Hydrangea’ (see the Fish Records Essentials list), and in the intervening years she’s married and had children as well as putting together the 13 songs here.
Like its predecessor, ‘You Call That Dark’ is a mainly collection of short stories that reflect real life – it’s a highly narrative disc that details the trials and tribulations of ordinary people, their lives and their families.
There’s a recurring theme of farms and farmers throughout the disc, and these songs provide some of the more memorable highlights, from the farmer having to sell his farm as his children don’t want to take over (‘Pete’s Gonna Sell’), the troubles of an old Gaelic farmer in a modern hospital (‘What A World, What A God’), and the story of an fragile lady living in an old farm (‘Helen Has A House’).
While the disc may have a candidly sad air to it, this is balanced out by Kate’s tender and delicate vocals that bring a lighter feel to many of the songs. All the tracks are thoughtfully arranged and performed, there are few, if any, contemporary singer/songwriters who construct songs as intelligently as Kate - they’re full of pretty and often simple melodies, but the arrangements are varied and complex. This is a musically sophisticated disc that draws its influences from many sources, some obvious, others a little less so, and like the very best music of any style it reveals more detail on each listen.
While the disc is acoustic guitar led, the list of instruments is varied and includes Hammond, harmonium, xylophone and piano (notably the piano accompaniment on ‘Helen Has a House’ is beautiful), and while most of the backing vocals are provided by Kate and the musicians, Mary Lee Kortes lends her vocal support to three tracks.
On first listen ‘You Call That Dark’ may appear simple and unassuming, but after a few listens the disc really stands out – it has a character, honesty and intelligence that make it irresistible and hugely rewarding. Highly recommended.
JACOBS KATE - YOU CALL THAT DARK
Jacobs Kate
CD (Cat No: 12879)
JACOBS KATE - YOU CALL THAT DARK
