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There's not much more British than slightly freaky folk music. As if to prove the point, Erland Cooper has mined these pleasant pastures for a debut album of depth and weird beauty.
Along with Cooper, who grew up in Orkney – a place where it's hard to believe there's any other kind of music ever performed except slightly freaky folk music – the Carnival is made up of Simon Tong (The Verve; Blur; The Good, the Bad & the Queen) and David Nock (drummer from Macca's The Fireman offshoot).
Together, they've taken various bits of existing poetry, lyrics, folk tales and songs, and melded them together with their own organs, guitars and lyrics. The result is a collection of engaging, swirling tracks and stories that sound like the soundtrack to a creepy, dreamy funfair.
The best example of this is The Derby Ram – an update of the traditional ballad about the giant ram which got the city its emblem. It recounts the story of 17-year-old Shaun Dykes who, in 2008, jumped from the top of a car-park in the city centre while the gathered crowd below had shouted "jump" and filmed him on their phones. Cooper uses the old A Day in the Life trick of lifting scenes straight from the newspaper, telling Dykes' story through quotes from the scene. It's a modern parable that's infinitely scarier than a big sheep.
Elsewhere, William Blake's verse The Echoing Green is set to a hypnotic offbeat guitar part that Cooper hides his voice behind. Leonard Cohen's return-to-libido poem Disturbed This Morning is given a curious reworking that makes it more wanderlust than old-man lust, and My Name Is Carnival a cover of a track by tragic 60s folk singer Jackson C Frank (which gives the band their name) is a buxom, jazzy, introduction to the Carnival's shtick.
It's a curiosity alright, one you can file next to similarly interesting backwards-looking modern bands like The Decemberists, The Coral and Mystery Jets. A freakbeat take on sample culture. --Will Dean
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
On the surface this could be a train wreck and really shouldn't work but surprisingly it does. What we have here is a mix of folk rock, psychedelic, garage and sixties pop with some Scott Walker thrown in for good measure. The word eclectic doesn't quite cover it; indeed if it was political it would be a rainbow coalition. Folk rock is growing through something of a fashionable resurgence at the moment notably with the Mumfords in the UK and Decemberists in the States. Similarly many pure folk artists are recording the albums of their lives (Martin Simpson and Jackie Oates). So where do the curiously named Erland and the Carnival fit and who are they?
Erland and the Carnival is a band, formed in London by multi instrumentalist Simon Tong formerly of The Verve and The Good, the Bad & the Queen, folk guitarist and singer Erland Cooper and Drummer/Engineer David Nock who accompanied Paul McCartney on his excellent "The Fireman" album. Not quite a super group then but a bunch of experienced musicians with musical tastes that cherry pick from across genres but which are rooted in traditional folk albeit with a rather naughty twist. These are by no means "finger in the ear" folkies. As the review in the Times wryly observes they may in fact cause some irritation to lovers of this music with ""Love Is a Killing Thing" conflating a song collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams with another from Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger. If the militant MacColl wasn't dead, their temerity in overhauling The Derby Ram may have finished him off".
All great folk rock bands like the Fairport's have of course put their own stamp on traditional songs and to be fair there are songs on here that are more "standard" in interpretation. "Tramps and Hawkers" fits this bill and the previous mentioned powerful slow burn opener "Love is a Killing thing". Alternatively quite what "My name is carnival" is not easy to categorise. It starts off sounding like the introduction to White Room by Cream and then mutates into sort of music that could easily soundtrack retail therapy in Mary Quant's Carnaby Street shop in 1967 and has what I can only describe as a "baggy" feel. Clearly it is a highlight and for the curious the point of entry for this band.
"The Sweeter the girl they harder I fall" lands firmly into the same category, while "One Morning Fair" reminds me of the Charlatans. I am ashamed to say that I have never previously heard the Welsh folk song "Gentle Gwen" and even if I had I don't think that it would be recognizable from this but it's still excellent. There are some songs on here that frankly don't work ("Was you ever see" being a key case in point) but overall this is generally thrilling stuff. Yes it throws up a game of musical Cluedo as you puzzle over the source of a song and their treatment of it. But why not since it works well proving that life is indeed a carnival.
Erland and the Carnival is a band, formed in London by multi instrumentalist Simon Tong formerly of The Verve and The Good, the Bad & the Queen, folk guitarist and singer Erland Cooper and Drummer/Engineer David Nock who accompanied Paul McCartney on his excellent "The Fireman" album. Not quite a super group then but a bunch of experienced musicians with musical tastes that cherry pick from across genres but which are rooted in traditional folk albeit with a rather naughty twist. These are by no means "finger in the ear" folkies. As the review in the Times wryly observes they may in fact cause some irritation to lovers of this music with ""Love Is a Killing Thing" conflating a song collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams with another from Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger. If the militant MacColl wasn't dead, their temerity in overhauling The Derby Ram may have finished him off".
All great folk rock bands like the Fairport's have of course put their own stamp on traditional songs and to be fair there are songs on here that are more "standard" in interpretation. "Tramps and Hawkers" fits this bill and the previous mentioned powerful slow burn opener "Love is a Killing thing". Alternatively quite what "My name is carnival" is not easy to categorise. It starts off sounding like the introduction to White Room by Cream and then mutates into sort of music that could easily soundtrack retail therapy in Mary Quant's Carnaby Street shop in 1967 and has what I can only describe as a "baggy" feel. Clearly it is a highlight and for the curious the point of entry for this band.
"The Sweeter the girl they harder I fall" lands firmly into the same category, while "One Morning Fair" reminds me of the Charlatans. I am ashamed to say that I have never previously heard the Welsh folk song "Gentle Gwen" and even if I had I don't think that it would be recognizable from this but it's still excellent. There are some songs on here that frankly don't work ("Was you ever see" being a key case in point) but overall this is generally thrilling stuff. Yes it throws up a game of musical Cluedo as you puzzle over the source of a song and their treatment of it. But why not since it works well proving that life is indeed a carnival.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I first heard about this album from the metacritic website which awarded it an impressive 82%. It certainly justifies that score & is one of the best albums i've heard this year. Trouble in Mind is a fantastic track, and a great place to start if your unsure about this style of music. To be honest there's not a bad track on here, but there's not enough stand out tracks for me to award it 5 stars, almost though.
If your still unsure about this album it's available on Spotify, so listen to it there before you buy.
Definitely beats the pants off of most stuff british artists are doing today.
If your still unsure about this album it's available on Spotify, so listen to it there before you buy.
Definitely beats the pants off of most stuff british artists are doing today.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Why do people insist on giving 5 star reviews if they like a record and only 1 star if they don't? To give 1 star for this album is a disgrace. Even if the reviewer didn't like the sound surely they could hear the muscianship? I was compelled to comment because I actually saw this band play live last night in Exeter. I had never heard of them but they were supporting the Wild Beasts. Erland and the Carnival were simply sensational. They rocked the place with their flamboyant style and mesmerising sound. Erland is one of those front men you just can't take your eyes off, he is a real talent. Please try and see them live because then you will see what a ridiculous review Mr "beatbiter" wrote. Put on, try hard, rinky dink, monty python? Everyone is entitled to their view but a view so distorted probably will put off potential buyers of the album, and that would be a real shame. Its a superb album, just read the majority of reviews online, give it a listen, and then make you own mind up.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Bought on a whim but love it
I bought this album on a whim as one of the deals of the week but I love it. Bit of folk, bit of psychedelic and a bit of fun all rolled in to one.
Published 14 months ago by R. Vincent
Weird folk rock
Erland and the Carnival appeared at Lounge on the Farm this year and were great - I've no idea what they're singing about but they have a certain something, and stand out from the... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Sarah Butler
psych folk
Blending 60s sounds with folk influences in an exciting way, and making songs sound fresh while keeping the listener engaged emotionally, this is what this album is about. Read more
Published on 16 April 2010 by christos_p
Stunning
This is a superb album which I feel obliged to recommend in the strongest terms .
Not since I came across the Mumford & Sons and the Leisure Society debut albums last year... Read more
Not since I came across the Mumford & Sons and the Leisure Society debut albums last year... Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2010 by lover of music
Disappointing
Well this is simply awful. After reading a postive review in The Observer I thought The Carnival might be a refreshing alternative to the usual batch of 'next big things' that are... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2010 by Beatbiter
Erland & The Carnival
Wow, I bought this album after seeing all the great reviews in Mojo and Uncut and the newspapers.
It really is quite special. Read more
It really is quite special. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2010 by M. Hemsley
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