“This is our Midwinter tour.” says Ellie Gowers, guitarist with Transatlantic Folk trio The Magpies, “It was going to be a Christmas one but we don’t know enough Christmas songs.” That suggests that this, the first show on this tour, might be a bit bleak with hardly any sparkle. On tonight’s evidence they probably should have billed it as a Christmas tour anyway. It’s absolutely packed with a warm-hearted good spirit.
The Magpies play Folk music that drags in influences from all over the place. Bella Gaffney’s banjo and Holly Brandon’s fiddle points you to the Appalachians, to a bluegrass-y stomp while Ellie Gowers is as pure and English as they come. There’s dry Yorkshire wit and American-tinged foot-tappers.
Galileo, taken from their latest album Undertow, is a perfect summation of everything that The Magpies do wonderfully well. Gaffney’s ragged, sunburnt voice sings a killer chorus while fiddle and banjo bring Celtic and bluegrass phrases together. The rhythm is stomping, the music utterly infectious.
This melding of English and Northern American styles is a theme that runs through this evening. I Never Will Marry and No More Tears invite gleeful sing-alongs, with banjo, fiddle and guitar whirling dizzy two steps. The power of a great song shines through time and time again.
Even when they move away from their own songs, the Transatlantic love affair is so strong. Fall On My Knees is an American trad song from the 1900s, with a myriad of versions, most notably by Old Crow Medicine Show. The Magpies nod across the Atlantic but keep their feet rooted on this side of the pond. Yorkshire voices and a gorgeous banjo and fiddle tune. Hares on a Mountain, on the other hand, is an English Folk standard and, this time, is slowed and harmony filled. All three voices swell, overlap and glisten. Gaffney describes the song as “like Tinder but with more animals” but it’s completely beguiling.
While the songs are lovely, the tunes are superb. Holly Brandon’s fiddle is front and centre and they are, mostly, written by her. Foss Island might be inspired by the carpark of a retail centre in York but it’s sea-spray whipped and lighthouse bright. Colin’s Set is upbeat and danceable while Catharsis is exactly that. It’s a fantastic purification, a glorious relief, fiddle and banjo simply lifting up the soul.
This may well be a Midwinter tour but there are a few Christmas-y numbers too. In The Bleak Midwinter is just beautiful. Ellie Gowers (a brilliant solo artist who has joined The Magpies relatively recently) is astonishing, her voice crystal clear and diamond bright. She is their secret weapon; the voice of an angel in very sparkly trousers. I Believe in Father Christmas gets a welcome Bluegrass twist and Midnight Oil – their brand-new Christmas song – is all twinkly festive Folk bounce.
All of which leaves one of those cover versions that is infinitely better than the original. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), the 80s favourite by Eurythmics, becomes something slinky and sinuous. There’s a creepy film noir vibe that the fiddle and banjo only accentuate. It is amazing.
Maybe this wasn’t your typical Christmas show but The Magpies plucked magic from a dark December night. They collect together a whole nest of jewels, snatch up and fly off with shiny things.
Gavin McNamara
TallFolk 