Reviews
Sulidae Album: An Invincible Summer
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 15
Website: https://bobbymotherwell.bandcamp.com/
Sulidae is Scottish songwriter and poet Bobby Motherwell and AN INVINCIBLE SUMMER is his second album. Written between 2022 and 2024, this is a rich and reflective set. Blue Rose Code's Ross Wilson was a big fan of Sulidae's first album, which is interesting as there is the same soulful spiritual feel to "The Wind And White Horses" (also released as a stand alone single) and the sensational "Healing Light". Both Blue Rose Code and Sulidae have a way of phrasing that nods to Soul and Gospel and a sound that tastefully blends classic Americana and Celtic Acoustic music. Motherwell's voice against Andy Lucas' piano and Seonaid Aitken's violin on "Healing Light" is just stunning. Andy's gritty hammond organ also adds pathos through the whole album. With its ambience and Bobby's measured intonation, "The Wait" is another absolute gem. A short glimpse of what it might sound like if The Blue Nile unplugged and went Folk. Bobby uses that sense of space and understatement to great effect on the powerful "Ordinary Day". It also helps that with room and tasteful backing, channeling an ASTRAL WEEKS Folk Jazz vibe his vocals just shine. Not I hasten to add, that they aren't top drawer through the whole album.
"Why Are The Good Guys Gone" and "Wilson's Lament" nod to Bob Dylan, the worn ambience of Guy Clark and classic American with a great tunes, atmospheric guitar and harmonica. "Three Women" is a sparse but charged duet with Kirsten Adamson adding a poignant second voice. Subtle beat boxing, muscular harmonica from Fraser Speirs breathes and squeaks behind harder spoken blues piece "When The Penny Drops", sharp "Dae Ye Miss It" and thoughtful "A Kind Wind". Showing without a doubt that Motherwell phrasing is spot on whether delivering poetry or singing. Some poets delivering even their own material sound like they are reading flat pack furniture instructions or a dictionary, not Sulidae. There is a real power to "Dae Ye Miss It" and a sense of the confessional. With a beautiful guitar part "That Moment" sits somewhere between song and poem with some killer lines and wordplay delivered with feeling. The album opens and closes with poetry, both wrapped in pastoral ambience, but they couldn't be more different. Album opener "The Wild Garlic And Bluebell Way" is a poetic description of a woodland walk with a canine companion. Beautifully phrased it captures a moment. "Fragile Wings" is a more inward looking piece of self analysis as Sulidae, as fearless as the high diving seabird he is named for, peels back layers to show a core.
A quietly sensational collection of songs, thoughts and reflections. Harder hitting songs like "When The Penny Drops" and "Dae Ye Miss It" sit perfectly alongside the more pastoral opening tracks, the ambient "An Invincible Summer" and the perfect bliss of moments like "Ordinary Day" and "Healing Light".
Marc Higgins
| Previous | Next |
|---|---|
| Auri: Auri III - Candles & Beginnings | Sue Graves: The Surrey Nightingale |
Recent Reviews
- Maria Mihailik:Maria Mihailik
- Mama's Broke:Reunion
- Leslie Waugh:Night Bloom
- Kate Waters:Some Comfort
- Faris Ishaq:Jasad
- 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
The Wind And White Horses
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.