Highwired
macAlias
Greentrax Recordings Limited
2000
13 tracks
On first hearing this collaboration by Scotland's Gill Bowman and Karine Polwart, one is reminded of the Indigo Girls. There are many similarities: the well-matched female voices, the twin guitars carrying most of the instrumental load, the folky lyrics and spare presentation. On closer examination, however, there are also many characteristics of macAlias that set this duo apart and even make them unique in the pop-folk music field.
Take, for instance the Indigo Girls comparison. Certainly both the Indigo Girls and macAlias are, at root if not entirely, rooted in folk traditions. And both tend to work around and even stray from these traditions. The Indigo girls often seem to be playing acoustic rock, driving the music forward with their strong guitar licks and vocals. Bowman and Polwart, on the other hand, lean more toward older and sometimes even traditional styles of American country music. Their sound is decidedly country.
Where the Indigo Girls' harmonies tend to be hard-edged, with a very indie feel, Bowman and Polwart bring a sweet, soulful Sixties folk sound to their harmonies. At times, the listener can wonder if these two are related, so much do these sound like those much vaunted blood-harmonies. The beauty of these harmonies is epecially highlighted in the a capella performance of "Polwart on the Green" and "Winter Sun" which follows with a much more orchestrated approach.
While macAlias include their own self-penned works, they also include two songs ("The Gowden Locks of Anna" and "The De'il's Awa Wi' Th' Exciseman" by Scottish bard Robbie Burns, a tune by Derek Hoy ("Rantin Dog"), a very Indigo Girls song by Allie Fox ("The Moon Above The Rooftops"), and a very traditional sounding song ("The Violet And The Rose) written by some of America's finest country songwriters.
"The Violet And The Rose" stands out as especially good. Originally performed by country stars Porter Wagoner and Skeeter Davis, this song was written by Bud Auge, Jimmy Dickens, John Reinfeld, and Mel Tillis, each a successful songwriter in his own right. Notwithstanding its more or less contemporary American origins, this song has very much the feel of traditional English/Irish/Scottish music. Bowman and Polwart bring the song back to America, giving it a very hillbilly sound reminiscent of early Emmylou Harris recordings. It is a beautiful thing.
I don't mean to say that this music is at all old fashioned. This is music that has no time and is at home in any time. And while this release has a certain unity and cohesion about it, it is at the same time quite diverse and eclectic.
It's interesting to hear this Scottish female duo at times performing American country music conventions better, in my opinion, than many contemporary American artists do. For example, in "The Moon Above The RoofTops" these young women have a definite Dolly/Emmylou sound backed up by some wild blues harp and great George Jones style rockin' guitar.
The tracks on this release range from stone trad to contemporary (so long as you consider contemporary to be anything up to 1962), yet they all stand up well in today's eclectic folk music environment. I think we're going to hear a lot more from macAlias or, if not, then from the two already successful artists who came together to form this collaboration.
Those wanting to know more about Gill Bowman, Karine Polwart, or macAlias will find information on the internet at the macAlias website.|
Since about February 14, 2004, |
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