Reviews
Nic Norton and Alice Morell Album: The Stone Tape
Label: Barking Bunny
Tracks: 12
Website: https://nicnortonmusic.com/
Norfolk based Nic Rigby and Alice Morell have a new album, The Stone Tapes. This is their first album since Killing Time in 2023, apart from a retrospective, and is one to look forward to. Nic has the ability to write songs across styles and Alice has a beautiful voice that works in every format from smokey blues to pop and rock. For this album they're joined by quality musicians providing backing vocals and a whole range of instruments for a really varied sound.
Nic's songwriting covers the whole spectrum of human life, from happy to sad to surreal but he always makes it work. Opening the album is the very beautiful "Gone" a song of remembrance for a departed partner of many years. It's the small items that strike home; the jar of useless buttons that can't possibly be thrown away, the memory of dancing all night and how the partner helped the narrator through dark times. Although a sad topic the tune is upbeat and it's the fondness for the memories that shines through as the one left behind tries to negotiate their future alone.
Having known Nic's work for many years I was waiting for the classic that makes you stop and question if you'd heard what you thought you had. I found it on Track 3 "Love Me More".
"He'd like to write a line to get inside her mind or, at least, her underwear."
This is very much a dance tune with a rock sound and Nic's vocals. His characters are often slightly dysfunction; this is a song about two people who wonder why their relationships never seem to work out.
"The Other Side" is also a song about a failed relationship where only one can see and the other doesn't realise there's a issue. It's quite a dark song as Alice details, in some detail, why it's all over. There aren't going to be many happy memories taken forward but a lock of bitterness and relief it's finally over. That contrasts well with "Loves Lives On", inspired by Phillip Larkin's poem "An Arundel Tomb" where love is eternal.
A very touching song is "The Bus Stop Waltz", a song about homelessness with a man to sleeps in a bus shelter every night, dreaming of his early life when his mother would sing him to sleep with a lullaby, and fills his days with just walking or reading papers in the library. Everyone else passes by, trying not to catch his eye or stop to ask his name. Alice brings a gentle grace, yet nobility, to him.
All the other tracks show this range so this is an album for everyone who enjoys quality musicianship and narrative songs with a good story arc. You'll laugh, you'll cry but every song will have an effect on you. The Stone Tape releases 20th August on Bandcamp, Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music as a download, although CDs may be available at live shows.
Tony Birch
| Previous | Next |
|---|---|
| The Kennedys: Smoketree | M G Boulter & Jenny Sturgeon: Wild Convenor |
Recent Reviews
- The Kennedys:Smoketree
- Nic Norton and Alice Morell:The Stone Tape
- M G Boulter & Jenny Sturgeon:Wild Convenor
- Christian Parker, Patrick Cleary and Earl Poole Ball:American Cosmic Revival Vol 2: Miles From Nowhere
- Around About Dusk:Sweet Old Fables
- Phil Odgers & John Kettle:The War Is Over - The Songs Of Phil Ochs Vol.2
- Paper Verses:Windstill
- My Girl The River:Manifest Good Things
- Michael McDermott:Flowers From The Graveyard
- Hase Waits:The Dancing Spot
Gone
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Pirate is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.