Reviews

Jacob And Drinkwater
Album: More Notes From The Field
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 11
Website: https://www.jacobanddrinkwater.com/

I was lucky enough to attend the album release for "More Notes From The Field" at Walton Folk Festival and so was able to get my hands on a copy almost a month brfore its official release date. Ed Butcher, the compere of the festival, was lucky enough to have got his hands on a copy the day prior to the festival and had therefore had the opportunity to a first listen before seeing them perform any of the tracks live. During his introduction to the duo, he contended that this is not only the best thing that these two guys have ever done, it is probably the best folk album that we're, going to hear this year, or for several years to come. When Lukas arrived on stage, he responded that it has been said that you can't have disappointment without expectation.

Don't worry, there will be no disappointment when you hear "More Notes From The Field". Ed was not joking. This album is incredible.

You could quote almost any line from Tobias ben Jacob's lyrics and be a shoe-horn for a booker prize. Lines such as "We come form a different school. Uncool before uncool was cool.", "Who's that woman over there? Poets drowning in her hair.", "It used to be happy hour all the time, but now it's just from six till nine." or "The world I saw with Adam's eyes, just a thought and the moment dies. The life you knew with eyes of Eve slipped away and left you to grieve." Stunning lyrics, throughout.

As well as songwriter, Tobias is lead vocalist, and plays both electric and acoustic guitar. Lukas Drinkwater is a multi-instrumentalist, perhaps best known as a double bass player, but he excels at guitar and keyboards as well. On this album he is credited with backing vocal, double bass, acoustic and electric guitar, piano, organ, wurlitzer, synthesisers, drums and percussion. He also produced, recorded and mixed the album. His wife, Emily Barker, also joins them on harmonica on "Nowhere On Sea" and on backing vocals on "To Call You A Friend".

Although not a concept album, the theme of friendship runs close to the surface on many of the tracks. A close friend of theirs, Richard Bridge, recently died, and the album is dedicated to his memory, so generally, the friendship motif is tinged with sadness. "My Perennial Friend" is simply a happy song of friendship, but its message of - you'll always have a friend in me - is deeply coloured with the knowledge that no matter how deep a friendship is 'always' is never as long as you want.

"A Day Out Of Time", is heartbreaking, and covers the day that Richard, an angel in human skin, become a star in the heavens. "To Call You a Friend", is perhaps even more heartbreaking. 'It was another dark day here in Paradise'. It urges us to take care of the ones that we love, and pleads 'May it be a blessing to call you a friend.'

I'm not sure I understand the lyrics of "Golden Man". On any other album, I'd take it on face value as a mythical tale about a golden giant, part spirit and part wild, who lives in a valley by a river. On "More Notes From The Field" I'm not so sure. Tobias describes his friend Richard as an angel and a saint elsewhere, so I think it likely that the golden man is also a metaphor for him. Lines such as 'You love me because I'm strong, but you loved me when I'm weak' and 'When will I see your face again - soon brother soon' all feel as if they are referencing a lost friend.

"Sargasso Sea" is another song that I also feel shouldn't be taken at face value. It is almost a jolly little bouncy number about returning to the Sargasso sea one day, but it includes the lines, 'Yesterday I crossed the line, I said goodbye to a friend of mine, I was sad to loose his company. Hope I see him at the Sargasso sea.' Clearly the Sargasso Sea is a metaphor for the place you go when you die, so this could almost be read as a suicide note.

There are a few songs on the album that are definitely not inspired by the death of their friend. "Higher Than The Moon" is a song that everyone who has seen them before will have heard. Whenever they perform live they always open with it, but only recently realised that they had never recorded it. Clearly it was time to record it.

They have recently released "The Nameless" as a single, (despite the fact that Lukas thought that 'releasing a single' meant dumping your partner). A friend had recorded a video of Tobias singing this on a balcony in 2010. Years later, they sent him the clip asking what it was called, and where could they find a copy? He had to admit that it didn't have a name, he'd only ever played it once, and had then completely forgotten about it. He had to relearn the song from watching the video.

Tobias wrote "For Old Times' Sake" for his grandfather, who was in the navy, working in the battery room of a ship which struck a mine. He was badly injured, but managed to make his way up several decks till he was able to walk straight off the sinking vessel into the sea. Again, though, this is a song celebrating camaraderie and friendship.

My favourite track on the album is "Nowhere On Sea". It is a sentiment that everyone who is stuck in a rut will sympathise with. Another tear-jerking heartbreaker about how one's friends have all moved on, leaving you behind, despite the fact that you were only passing through. Somehow, Emily's harmonica makes it feel even more poignant.

Ed, during his introduction at the album launch, stated that he had been driving home listening to the album the night before, and had to pull over, as one of the tracks was just so emotional he couldn't drive. I'm not sure which track it was that affected him. It could have been almost any of these tracks. I have felt tears welling up throughout. A definite masterpiece.

Pete Bradley

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