Anybody remember a Britpop luminary going by the name George Nigel Hoyle? No? Well, he was a member of the Britpop second-tier band Gay Dad, but who also wrote a big hit for Lee Ryan in 2005 with “Army of Lovers”.
And do you know him now as a purveyor of very low-key (and the accent is on very), typically English acid-folk. For example as Nigel Of Bermondsey or GentleFolk? The answer is probably negative too, but it shouldn’t be. His collaborative album under the name Cunning Folk, “Ritual Land, Uncommon Ground” is everything you can expect, and should expect from such a musical concept: low-key tunes, lyrics having that sepia tinge, as in old photographs, and excellent singing and playing.
So what is the cunning thing about? It could be a sly trick of Hoyle’s, but it probably has more to do with the fact that the term cunning folk in Britain usually refers to old practitioners of magic, spanning the period from the Medieval times up to twentieth century.
On the album, Hoyle shows a practically academic approach to the subject matters of his songs, but the music itself is neither preachy or academically dry, Hoyle and all involved obviously have transferred their knowledge into a feel - the music has a natural flow, and you don’t even notice that Hoyle’s voice doesn’t join in the scene until the third track “The Modern Aquarian”, along with the track that precedes it, “The Old Straight Track”, personal favourites on the album.
And it is not all just “good old folk”. “Chalk Horses” has a slow Twenties swing to it and “Uncommon Ground” brings in a Sixties feeling. But it is the truly folk-inspired songs like “A Brief History of Agriculture and Mining” and “Lancashire, God’s Country” where Cunning Folk excel and pull this album into the category of music you should devote your attention to.
So, it will make no difference if Hoyle comes up with another moniker, just as long as he keeps producing music as good as this.
