Fence Collective stalwart and fellow Domino signing alongside KC; James Yorkston has surrounded himself with a new merry-band of collaborates in the shape of The Big Eyes Family Players, and a blessed union it proves to be, as their album Folk Songs casts new light on compositions and arrangements long since submerged into select record collections or the preserve of dusty annals and folk compendiums.
Fully embracing his ever present traditional roots, 2nd single ‘Mary Connaught & James O’Donnell’ sees Yorkston and James Green (aka Big Eyes) adding new arrangements and melodies to an old Irish tale of Clergy clout versus a commoners doggedness and fortitude. The double-quick drum shuffle and unerring beat mixed with Yorkston urgent but warm delivery contribute to the feeling of being swept along and engrossed in the fervent saga, helping to sympathise with Mary’s plight as the lyrics unfold a story of a press ganged woman pressured by the local Priest to up sticks and forgo her land and home as the Priest hordes all the timber of a ship-wreck “Only a fool would go out in the sieve, Out in the teeth of a roaring gale” paying little regard to the victims or Mary’s rights…blinkered by a misguided vision of erecting a Chapel from timbres of the fated boat.
‘Mary Connaught & James O’Donnell’ relates a timeless tale of injustice relayed by exceptional musicians and mixed and produced with a deftness of touch, as subtle harmonies drift in and out and converge with fiddles and accordion not too mention the unique warm tones emanating from the organ, that could almost feel like a lick of flame from a roaring winter fire – if your willing to fully immerse yourself in the conjured environment.