Ruth Blake - 'Brave Ships' single review

 

The temptation to make comparisons between one singer and another is always there for a reviewer. It’s an easy way to give the readers a point of contact with the music, but it can often sell the artist short. One review of ‘Brave Ships’ compares Ruth Blake to Dido and Jewel which does her a definite disservice. She is far more than the anodyne pop-folk of those two singers. It also takes the focus away from her words. I doubt I’m the first to make comparisons with another Blake, William's, writing but the imagery of ‘Brave Ships’ does feel as if it comes from another better age.

Blake says that the lyrics started from reading Clarissa Pinkola Estes ‘Letter To A Young Activist During Troubled Times’. The message of that piece “Do not lose heart. We were made for these times” runs through ‘Brave Ships’ “Feels like I’m trying to bail us out with a teaspoon. But it’s not just me, there’s a whole fleet coming up behind and it’s what we’re here for”: “We are brave ships sailing the wide waters of the unknown”.

This is a larger production than her previous albums. Produced by Damien Mahoney of Caulbearers, whose single ‘Over Comes A Cloud’ Blake also features on. The string trio lends the feel of an ocean swell, and the rhythm section lock into a subtle groove that helps a near seven-minute song pass in a flash. If you need a musical reference point then Joni Mitchell is the obvious one, although Blake’s voice is closer to Joan Baez and Judy Collins. This is a far more contemporary sound than she has produced on her previous albums. The “B” side ‘I Am’ is a remastered version of a song from her last album ‘Creation’. That and its predecessor ‘Lullabies for Grown-Ups’ would make great purchases for the first Bandcamp Friday of the year on 5^th February. In the meantime, ‘Brave Ships’ is a compelling statement for early 2021 and could well end up on best of lists in 11 months’ time.

Buy it on Bandcamp.

The video that accompanies the single is worth a watch too…

 

And what did 2021 have to offer?

At the start of Lockdown version one, I pointed you at some good music to help make the days pass smoothly. Now we are up to version 3, (does that by the way make the next one lockdown 95) so, here's some more...

I've talked about Continental Record Services and reviewed their albums here and at Americana UK. In fact Emma Swift's 'Blonde on the Tracks' was my album of the year over at AUK. The review of that and a couple of other star releases from them it was posted back in September. 

One that slipped the net was 'Country Darkness', an album of Elvis Costello covers from duo My Darling Clementine and featuring Steve Nieve. Described as an album " that throws a spotlight on 12 hidden gems from the Elvis Costello repertoire and vividly reimagines them in the duet’s definitive country-soul styling". As a casual Costello fan, I didn't know many of these songs so have no points of comparison. And as I was only vaguely aware of the band, they clearly need further investigation. Some similarities in style to Over the Rhine, and praise doesn't get much higher than that. 

Looking at their Bandcamp page I've found that they were also responsible for Hannah Rose Platt's ‘Letters Under Floorboards’, and album I've returned to recently and which I'm pleased to find is still a good one.

I'm listening to a few of their other 2020 releases that I missed. Lynn Miles' ‘We’ll Look for Stars’ is sounding like why I didn’t hear this before moment. I'll report back in a week or so. 

CRS are big on Bandcamp and the good news is that Bandcamp Friday is continuing until at least May 2021. Don't let it put you off buying at other times as their revenue share is quite reasonable, but if you are planning some big buying save your Christmas pennies for February 5th. 

And the even better news. Those nice people at CRS have sent us some thank you's for supporting their artists in 2020. Two free compilations, one based around their Roots/Americana artists which you can grab by clicking here, and one that I'm going to post at my music business page My Musix over on the Facebook. Give me a like while you are there and share anything interesting you find there. The cottage industry that makes up most of the music business needs your support and Continental Record Services, and 160gigblog thank you for sticking with us.