If there’s one thing Pumajaw are not, it’s Bob Dylan. Actually, there are many more things that the Perthshire-based duo are not – pop, easy-listening, conventional… I could go on.
However, the fact that they have seemingly abandoned folk and gone all electric seems to be the most significant thing about this release. Even the ‘Perthshire’ bit indicates that they have moved from their old (spiritual?) home of Fife’s East Neuk. And in doing so they have emerged in the 21st Century with very contemporary electronica replacing the stripped-down folkishness of their previous releases.
Of course, in previous lifetimes, both elements of the ‘band’ have strayed far from what we usually term folk music. As a member of Loop, John Wills is no stranger to unusual and dare I say it, modern instrumentation. As for Pinkie Maclure, her swooping soaring vocals on this release have returned to type – in their folk period her vocal dexterity was, one suspects, under-used. Here’ she becomes an instrument, and the sparse lyrics become largely unimportant.
Sweeping from efforts as poppy as Goldfrapp to the menace of Polly Harvey, Maclure’s voice is the ideal complement to Wills’ box of tricks. If you like your folk with a bit more ‘power’ to it then this could be for you. Bit of a turn-on, in fact…
