Reviews

Artist: Isambarde Electric
EP: Live
Label: Whirly Whorl Records
Tracks: 5
Website: http://www.isambarde.co.uk

Obviously having been weaned on a diet of Steeleye Span and the Albion (Country?) Band it may come as no surprise that this electric version of Isambarde (more commonly to be seen performing as a trio) sounds uncannily like early versions of both bands.

I’d also like to conjecture they’ve added a splash of early Edward II to the melting pot particularly on Sean McCarthy’s classic “Step It Out Mary” where Chris Green’s reggae guitar chops and the engine room of Rupert de Jonghe (bass) and Duncan Arrow (drums) work well alongside Emily Sanders (vocals/fiddle) and Jude Rees on vocals and oboe.

On the opening track “I Wish” the drum set up sounds uncannily as if it were taken from the opening stanza of The Blackleg Miner by Steeleye from their Hark The Village Wait days and more power to the band for re-inventing the glorious period of the origins of ‘folk-rock’ as opposed to those of ‘nu-folk’. Being only an EP featuring five tracks I can’t wait for a fully loaded album.

Peter Fyfe

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