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Product Description
Robin Denselow, The Guardian, October 7th, 2011
Kearney is a fine songwriter...His singing is considered and intense, and he seems to work intuitively with Farrell as they switch between duets and solos. She takes the lead on two traditional songs of love and loss, and adds one of her own to this compelling set - ****
CD Description
"18 months after their acclaimed debut EP, The North Farm Sessions, Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell finally release their debut album Kite. Modern music-making allows artists to throw-up ideas on-line ten minutes after they were recorded, but on first listen it is clear that this is talent that has been nurtured, with songs crafted over time.
Delicate, haunting and heartbreaking are just a few of the words that have been used to describe the music of Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrell. After meeting at Newcastle University 6 years ago, they formed an unlikely alliance - unlikely because Jonny with his bittersweet kitchen-sink dramas, shows sympathy with American storytellers like Dylan and Tom Waits, while Lucy's traditional folkie upbringing and vocal style couldn't be more English. Their six-track EP entitled `The North Farm Sessions' received 4 stars from The Guardian and Q, BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 and 6 airplay, and sold heavily on tour supports with The Unthanks and Bellowhead, and at summer festivals including Green Man, End of the Road and Cambridge.
It speaks volumes about the quality and quantity of their song-writing that non of the EP tracks feature on debut album `Kite'. There is continuity however, in Kearney and Farrell's relationship with Adrian McNally, pianist, producer and arranger for The Unthanks. Like the EP, Kite was recorded at the farmhouse home of McNally and wife Rachel Unthank. Jonny and Lucy dedicate the album to Rachel and Adrian's son George, who was born in the last month of making the album. "We rate them so highly, it just feels like a responsibility and a pleasure to do whatever we can for them," says McNally, who wrote the string arrangements on the album as well as producing it. "What they have is magical and ought to take them much further than we could ever hope!"
Touches of eccentricity come from local talent including Chris Hibbard (trombone), Paul Ruddick (sax and clarinet) and Kearney's old schoolmate and probably England's finest fiddle player, Peter Tickell (Peatbog Fairies, Sting, Kathryn Tickell Band). While much of the record retains the quiet but prickly intimacy of Jonny's and Lucy's live duo performances, McNally occasionally uses Unthanks band mates to add colour and texture to the storytelling, Chris Price adding ukelele, Dean Ravera double bass, and McNally himself playing piano on the traditional Peggy Gordon and Lucy Farrell's one self-penned contribution to the album, Winter Got Lost."
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
"Kite" is a wonderfully simple, delicate, melancholic album that improves with every listening, and helps to reduce stress levels immediately. The combination of Jonny's excellent song-writing talents, and Lucy's incredibly clear, sonorous voice, with such beautiful pronunciation prove to be a great combination.
The album starts out with the slightly eccentric, lazy, melancholic `There's A Disease' displaying great harmonies, and continues through the slightly `quirky' `Just Like The Old Days' which features some inventive guitar technique from Jonny (with the aid of a piece of cardboard!). Lucy displays her own song-writing talents with `Winter Got Lost', and the simple piano accompaniment highlights her calming, magical voice. The calming mood is continued with `Green Leaved Trees' with effortless harmonies and delightfully appropriate brass. Hedy West's `Down in Adairsville' suits their style superbly, and some nice viola and excellent guitar work by Jonny makes this my favourite track of the album.
`I write this note' is a lovely, abbreviated love letter, and so cute! The tempo is increased with the foot-tapping `Stand up Show', which would be an excellent single... as ever, so charming lyrics. `A Dream' is just that - dreamy, with a haunting lilt, especially in the piano work, reminiscent of beatlesque brilliance. `Call yourself a friend', Jonny's jaunty solo work show's his voice to best effect, and the promise of stronger vocals. `Swing Low' demonstrates the Spear & Jackson, and Lucy's dynamic range, so simple and is a return to the melancholy with lovely instrumentation.
`Peggy Gordon' is just stunning - a wonderfully haunting, charming version, much suited to Lucy's excellent controlled voice - i could play it over & over again (providing i could stay awake!!; it is so calming). The cd completes with another cute love song, a modern day caring, sharing version loosely based on the traditional nursery rhyme. All in all a superb chill-out album I would recommend to anyone. I can hardly wait for the next one!
The album starts out with the slightly eccentric, lazy, melancholic `There's A Disease' displaying great harmonies, and continues through the slightly `quirky' `Just Like The Old Days' which features some inventive guitar technique from Jonny (with the aid of a piece of cardboard!). Lucy displays her own song-writing talents with `Winter Got Lost', and the simple piano accompaniment highlights her calming, magical voice. The calming mood is continued with `Green Leaved Trees' with effortless harmonies and delightfully appropriate brass. Hedy West's `Down in Adairsville' suits their style superbly, and some nice viola and excellent guitar work by Jonny makes this my favourite track of the album.
`I write this note' is a lovely, abbreviated love letter, and so cute! The tempo is increased with the foot-tapping `Stand up Show', which would be an excellent single... as ever, so charming lyrics. `A Dream' is just that - dreamy, with a haunting lilt, especially in the piano work, reminiscent of beatlesque brilliance. `Call yourself a friend', Jonny's jaunty solo work show's his voice to best effect, and the promise of stronger vocals. `Swing Low' demonstrates the Spear & Jackson, and Lucy's dynamic range, so simple and is a return to the melancholy with lovely instrumentation.
`Peggy Gordon' is just stunning - a wonderfully haunting, charming version, much suited to Lucy's excellent controlled voice - i could play it over & over again (providing i could stay awake!!; it is so calming). The cd completes with another cute love song, a modern day caring, sharing version loosely based on the traditional nursery rhyme. All in all a superb chill-out album I would recommend to anyone. I can hardly wait for the next one!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'd not come across these two prior to seeing them supporting the mighty Bellowhead (bit of a contrast!), but I was immediately won over that night by their quiet charm, delicate tunes and wonderfully real lyrics. Not to mention a certain ramshackle charm in the performance!
"Kite" builds on the promise of their debut EP by delivering a selection of songs that are almost all achingly lovely; delicately constructed, finely played, beautifully sung, you will find you need to sit and listen to this one, but your efforts will be rewarded. The words are clever and finely fettled, and the understated acccompaniment makes very sure that it doesn't overwhelm the singers.
Lucy's voice is fragile and beguiling, delivering the sometimes melancholy words with a real warmth and charm. Johnny's singing turns are equally heartfelt (somewhat reminiscent of Boff from Chumbawamba actually - the two ensembles would find common ground I think), and contrast perfectly.
I like "Kites" more ever time I hear it. And if you get this, make sure you get "The North Farm Sessions" as well, as that release contains "Song for a Sweetheart", which in my humble opinion is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
"Kite" builds on the promise of their debut EP by delivering a selection of songs that are almost all achingly lovely; delicately constructed, finely played, beautifully sung, you will find you need to sit and listen to this one, but your efforts will be rewarded. The words are clever and finely fettled, and the understated acccompaniment makes very sure that it doesn't overwhelm the singers.
Lucy's voice is fragile and beguiling, delivering the sometimes melancholy words with a real warmth and charm. Johnny's singing turns are equally heartfelt (somewhat reminiscent of Boff from Chumbawamba actually - the two ensembles would find common ground I think), and contrast perfectly.
I like "Kites" more ever time I hear it. And if you get this, make sure you get "The North Farm Sessions" as well, as that release contains "Song for a Sweetheart", which in my humble opinion is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
buy this now whilst it is still in stock- a wonderful album. I have seen these guys in concert twice...once in Birmingham and once in Camden after a friend up north recommended them after seeing them at a folk festival. They work together so well to make wonderfully haunting songs...a really fab album to have in your collection!
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