Reviews
The Time Stealers Album: Safe Haven
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 10
Website: https://www.thetimestealers.bandcamp.com/
An acoustic indie-folk band variously from Shropshire, Cheshire and North Staffordshire, lining up as Basque Country percussionist Ibai Castezubi, married couple vocalist and cellist Sarah and Anji Hollinshead-Bland on guitar, ukulele and banjos, joint lead singer Rhysian Gault on guitar, mandolin, violin and ukulele, bassist Stew Harrison and Penny Copestake on harmonies and percussion, this is their third album and opens with the melodically dappled, puttering drums title track. Sung by Rhysian, it could be read as refugee-themed number with the lines "Just a small boat/Sailing on the ocean/Tryin' to stay afloat/Through the turmoil and commotion/Blown by angry winds/Thrown from storm to storm/Beaten by the waves/Now only looking for a safe haven", but is more generally about looking find "a friendly port to call your home" when life's travails threaten to take you under.
Again sung by Gault with Anji's ukulele, with a more laid back lolloping tempo, 'Some Days' is about finding time amid the grind to just chill out, whether that's a Monday night out or a Thursday morning lie in "Cos some days are for/Throwing caution to the wind/Running wild and chasing all your dreams and catching hold of them with both hands/And some days are for/Taking time to relax and to unwind/To lock the doors and cancel all the plans".
Written by Sarah and Anji and sung by Sarah, 'Fishing' is another easy rolling summer days rhythm with a witty metaphor-laced lyric about the dating game and looking for a prize catch ("spied me a fish in a nice new grey suit/His scales had been trimmed and his fins shone to boot/He fell for my smile and I caught him a treat"), that then comes with a black widow twist ("the fish he was silent which made me annoyed/The best way to cook him, battered or boiled?/He bucked and he turned tried to make his escape/But I was better than that and I knew his fate/After a struggle I did get my wish/Revenge is a fish best served as a dish").
Sarah also takes lead on Rhysian and Anji's bluesier inclined 'Simple Kinda Life', the title of which pretty sums up the sentiments ("I want a nice and easy, bright and breezy/sunshine always shinin' on me life/No pressure, No stress…I'm not selfish, I'm not needy/I sure as hell ain't greedy/I just want a simple kinda life"), the tempo picking up to a scurry in the final stretch.
Taking things easy seems to be prevalent theme, as again is the case with Gault's choppy 'Lazy Day' ("Take time/To make time…I don't wanna hear/A word that you say/You ain't ever gonna change my ways") with its time signature shifts and also, Sarah on lead, Anji on ukulele and Rhysian on violin, the pulsing strum of the seemingly defeatist 'Powerless' ("Leave all the drama and the chaos behind you/What else can you do?/You're just one person, just one opinion/It's not your fault. It's not your fight to win/You never asked for any of this trouble/Why should you care?/Just walk away, ignore it/Hope that someone else will sort it out/Bury your head in the sand until it all blows over"), though, of course, it then turns those same lines inside out.
With echoes of early Joni and Laurel Canyon folk, the carpe diem 'Dancing In The Rain' again looks to not being chained down by dark clouds ("Let's go dancing in the rain/Take me by the hand and spin around again/We don't need the sun to have a little fun") and to "be everything you can be/No regrets and no limits".
Rhysian's in the writing and vocal spotlight for the lilting circling fingerpicked 'Tall Tales', a poignant song of dementia ("These stories, these tall tales that you tell me/I don't know which are true/Sometimes I think neither do you/A lifetime of memories/Merging and colliding in your mind/Your filters are all gone now/You say things you would never say before/I'm learning things I never needed to know") when "The person you once were briefly surfaces/And I see in your eyes/Sadness and confusion and fear you can't disguise/How well you remember the games you played when you were young/How well you remember all the words of the songs you sang…But do you remember me?".
She's also the driving force of the final two tracks, first up being the handclappy, jaunty and vocally tumbling, uke and guitar folksy gospel call for direction 'Shine A Little Light On Me' ("There are two paths in front of me, I don't know which to take/My head is telling me one but for the other my heart aches/And I know I should be sensible, I know I should be wise/But you'll never make your dreams come true if you're not prepared to try") that plays as a child's appeal for their parent's support and guidance ("I don't want to end up a disappointment to you/I know that I'm a grown up with responsibilities but/It's hard to let go of those childhood fantasies") while also reassuring them " whichever road I travel down…I know I'm gonna be ok/Coz you know that I'm resilient and you know I'm gonna try/And whatever it is I have to do, I'll do it with a smile".
It ends, then, with the bluesy picked, rhythmically driving 'Stop The Clocks', and, echoing 'Some Days', a final mandolin-led reminder to not be slave to the daily grind ("Let time stand still/I don't wanna lose this feeling let's keep dancing until/The evening's nearly over let's have one more drink/We'll put on our favourite songs, turn em up loud/Life is too short to be worried and stressed/Give yourself a break, you're doing your best/Sit down in the shade and enjoy a little rest") because "There's more to living than just money and wealth" so "find the balance and be kind to yourself".
With an overarching theme echoing Paul Simon's 'Feeling Groovy', these are stolen moments well spent.
Mike Davies
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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
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