Friday, 2 April 2010

"The Accident That Led Me To The World" CD Review

"The Accident That Led Me To The World"
The Accident That Led Me To The World
Nobody’s Favorite Records 634479729935
***
A subtle combination of styles that blend perfectly together
“The Accident That Led Me To The World” are an acoustic non-percussive chamber folk trio from Massachusetts. Their self-titled album blends folk, bluegrass, and traditional music together to create a wondrous sound and a style all of their own. The bands name came from a song written by Mark Mandeville called The Accident That Led Me To The World. From Mark’s song came a whole album of songs based around the concept of a boy who sails to an island to be alone. The trio are made up of Mark on vocals, guitar and banjo, Raianne Richards on vocals, guitar and clarinet and Zack Ciras on upright bass and strings. The album is on the whole more narrative than musical. The first few offerings on this self-titled album are short and sweet traditional sounding chanteys. As soon as the album starts similarities can be drawn between this trio and Nickel Creek but as the album develops the similarities fade away and the album becomes more diverse. Mark’s vocals share similarities with Seth Lakeman on the opening song Tell Me Something. Broken House is a jolly uplifting short chantey. Mark and Raianne’s vocals blend perfectly together. Small Way sees Mark on banjo and vocals. This offering brings to mind Woodstock and times gone by. Long Nights, Long Days is slower and more modern in style. Mars is short and sweet but worth a listen just to hear Mark and Raianne harmonise together. Care follows on in a similar fashion. Watermark is a delicate offering with Mark on lead vocals. Raianne joins in on the chorus offering angelic soft vocals. The clarinet makes an appearance in this song giving it added depth and a different feel. Below sees Raianne on the clarinet once again and Zack on strings. This song has a strong modern folk feel about it blended with an edgy rock sound. Sunday starts off quietly with Mark’s vocals distant, the bass and strings are the focus of this song. If you like Seth Lakemen’s style of modern folk then you will love this song. The Accident That Lead Me To The World is a more traditional folk song featuring the banjo, guitar and bass. All the lyrics on this album tell a story and are worth a listen. All My Ghosts also has a traditional feel. This song blends folk with bluegrass and comes up with a really modern sound and style. The combination of banjo and bass gives this song a rich density and distinct edge. Take My Life is a much slower song with a more modern feel. Mark’s vocals are punchy and raw and really engage listeners at all times throughout the album. This is certainly a very different album.

No comments:

Post a Comment