Blyth Power – Land Sea and Sky (Downwarde Spiral)
Rising from the ashes of 80s anarchist punk band The Mob, Blyth Power emerged as the folky autocratic mouthpiece for drummer Joseph Porter and his obsession with trains, British history and cricket. Following an inverse line up formula to that of Spinal Tap, the singing drummer has remained a constant while guitarists, bassists, backing singers and keyboard players have come and gone, one unexpectedly turning up in The Kills and the role of Kate Moss’s current beau.
This album is the final part of a trilogy, though you don’t need to have been in at the start of the series to enjoy the songs on here. Royalty through the ages, gods, the godless and ticket inspectors are all in the mix, with Porter shamelessly delving into his reference library and giving further insight into the characters that inhabited earlier Blyth Power material. Those who have followed the band since the start will enjoy re-working of sea shanty The Mermaid and perplexingly cryptic It Probably Won’t Be Easy as well as some of Porter’s solo material, such as Devil and Sister Helena.
Heart of Me and The Ass in the Oak Tree are stand out tracks, though some later tracks do seem to meld into one, thanks to Porter’s love of a distorted treble-y sound that can overly dominate and sometimes hide some interesting and enjoyable vocal tics. Overall this is well worth checking out for a very different (and wordy) approach to lyrics and some decent song craft. Sing up Mr Porter.
