The Young 'Uns
Album: Never Forget
Label: Hereteu
Tracks: 13
Website: http://www.theyounguns.co.uk

This irrepressible Teesside trio (Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes) has been firm favourites of mine ever since I first saw them perform at Stockton Folk Club and the Daleside at Croxdale (that must be almost a decade ago now!), since when I've rejoiced in observing their unstoppable growth into one of the folk scene's hottest live acts while at the same time providing some of its most memorable new songwriting. The trio's early promise was grounded in their very evident, and superb, grasp and execution of vocal harmonies, pure a cappella clearly inspired by the mighty Wilson Family; initially with particular affinity with sea shanties and strong on other traditional and contemporary chorus-centred repertoire, all with a keen ear for startling, often distinctly innovative arrangement. Their distinctively gritty sensibility and no-nonsense stance, coupled with an exceedingly - and uniquely - entertaining (and seriously hilarious) in-yer-face stage presence, fast made them a must-see and must-book act, and they've since proved their sell-out status many times over at festivals and clubs the UK over.

However, in the face of this accomplishment it can sometimes be tempting to overlook the trio's second major selling-point: the outstanding songwriting skills of Sean Cooney. Each of the trio's studio albums has included examples of Sean's continually developing craft; his stock-in-trade is topics of local import or regional interest (many taken directly from, or inspired by, aspects of Hartlepool's history), and he tackles these with a degree of perception and insight that's remarkable for any songwriter let alone one so comparatively young. Never Forget includes two particularly fine examples: Three Sailors, which gives voice to those WW2 veterans buried in a military grave in a Hartlepool cemetery, and The Sandwell Gate, which concerns those who wait at that port's archway by the sea entrance. Both of these songs are done a cappella, and arguably form the emotional core of the album, for here the lads show especially exemplary control of dynamics and expression at the required measured pace.

Other songs take the local connection further afield: The Long Way Home is a tender northern romance, while Altar was inspired by the legend of St. Columba. However, events even further from home have triggered response from a wider political consciousness, giving rise to the disc's bookending tracks, The Biscuits Of Bull Lane and A Lovely Cup Of Tea: the former draws a poignant conclusion from its relating of events surrounding the English Defence League's protest outside a mosque in York in May last year, while the latter (a David Eagle composition) views the same event, with inimitable Eagle-eyed humour, from the perspective of an EDL member. One other vital aspect to the Young 'Uns' repertoire that we should Never Forget, of course, is the trio's proud promotion of the songwriting talents of the north-east, in this case Graeme Miles (the epic tale of Jack Ironside) and Jez Lowe (represented by Hands Feet, written for Folk Against Fascism); they also give welcome exposure to Joy Rennie's gorgeous interpretation of Cicely Fox Smith's poem Rosario.

On this latter item, a modicum of instrumentation is used, as on just over half of the album's 13 tracks. Mostly the instrumental input is centred around a piano, which is supplemented by David's accordion and/or Michael's guitar; thankfully, the effect is not overfacing, although it can occasionally seem a touch over-mellow, threatening to dilute the emotional power and strength of the lyrics. However, the Young 'Uns can never be faulted for displaying an unthinking approach to instrumental scoring; it could even be argued that the instrumental augmentation brings an enhanced sense of drama to a song like Graeme Miles' The Running Fox, and certainly the deployment of brass (the Carmel College Pit Band) and organ makes an effective addition to the two tracks they grace here, most sensitively embellishing the portrait of Sean's great-grandfather John Hill who died in the early stages of the Great War. The remainder of the purely a cappella items include a well-paired chalk-and-cheese brace of shanties and a rousing and committed rendition of Sydney Carter's classic John Ball.

The lads exhort us to "drown your hatred in a barrel of love, but never forget"; and who could forget, hearing these magnificent performances?

David Kidman