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THE MEMORY BAND - Apron Strings

THE MEMORY BAND - Apron Strings
Peacefrog
CD // £12.99
FOLK / AMERICANA
Released: Oct 2006
Catalogue Number: PFG085CD

THE MEMORY BAND - Apron Strings, Peacefrog

The Memory Band is the latest incarnation of Stephen Cracknell, maybe better known in the past for his work as Gorodisch on the Leaf Label and more interestingly for co-founding the Trunk Records label. It's no secret that Trunk has been re-issuing some of the finest and most intriguing oddities and rarities from the vaults of British Cinema and more recently British folk, so it's hardly surprising that Cracknell has one foot in the past as he carefully constructs the beautiful tracks on 'Apron Strings'. Like Tunng, Cracknell and his collaborators have put together an album which is intrinsically 'folk-revivalist' yet for some reason sticks in the mind as being extremely contemporary. With occasional drum machine flourishes and modern production techniques I could say it was the 'sound' of the record that booted it into our modern times, but that's not it - Tunng for instance took their sound into the 21st century by blending folk with electronica, but 'Apron Strings' is as much a folk album as Fairport Convention's 'Liege & Lief' with the songwriting always very much at the fore. Just head straight to the 8-minute folk epic 'I Wish I Wish' which probably sums 'The Memory Band' up totally, beginning with haunting strings, guitar and drum machines we are soon greeted by Nancy Wallace's utterly gorgeous vocals and although somehow reminiscent of Sandy Denny (I'm not complaining!) they melt into the track so absolutely creating waves of memorable harmony to warm you on those grumbly British winter nights. Mid way through the track the vocals cease and allow the track to build and build in that classic 'folk-rock-jam' manner we all came to love (after some convincing) before slowly and surely coming to an end. Elsewhere the troupe encounter Irish traditional folk music with their rendition of 'Green Grows the Laurel' and manage to come out without a hint of derision or cynicism, and I suppose when the album draws to a close, that is it's greatest strength. At no point do you feel Cracknell and his compatriots are ironically attempting to jump on a folk bandwagon, rather they are making music which makes them smile, which they can truly enjoy - and hearing musicians having a blast is always impossible to resist. 'Apron Strings' is a marvelous piece of work and a defined, important step for the nu-folk movement or whatever we're calling it in 2006...

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