Member:
stevepalmer
Date:
9/5/2009
Creedy is a British singer/songwriter from Yorkshire who, on his new and debut album Privileged Vagabond, collects twelve songs in what could loosely be called a psychedelic folk style. The sound is mellow (all acoustic guitars for instance) with plenty of emphasis on melody and percussion - and no drums, or bass. Creedy said in a recent interview that his songs are "weird folk," or progressive. Well, weird progressive folk just about sums this album up!
Opener "Melt Us Down" is a slow strummer with a nice tune - a good opening track. A flute mellotron introduces "Ninety Eight Percent" and its not-quite-understandable lyrics - nice sound though, with a lovely descending chord sequence and some string 'tron sounds. (All the synths and keyboards on this recording are real, owned by the band Pilgryms at their Hydeaway Studios in Yorkshire.) "Opposites Attract" has another good tune with a nice guitar/synth riff in the background, before a little light ethnic percussion taps in; this is the track that began the album recording project. "Fall Into Winter" begins with rainforest sounds, before Spanish style guitar emerges, and phased synth - a great combination. With the addition of ghostly synth and more mellotron, this is an album highlight. "Fever" pits multi-tracked acoustic guitars against percussion and accordion, while the superb "To Faith With Love" echoes the Beatles classic flute 'tron sound; almost ten minutes, this track, with good lyrics. Creedy's voice here is distinctive, quite soft in places, elsewhere with more of an edge.
The more uptempo "And Now Your Heart Is But An Organ" has less understandable lyrics and a Spanish feel, while "No Angel" sounds quite medieval in places, with its keening synth and tambour-like percussion. Creedy's voice is particularly good here. "Lilac Jay" is very mellow, and, again, lengthy, though the track does not outstay its welcome - great synth effects, and things do hot up later. This track seems to have had a lot of production work on it. "Particle Accelleration" features really weird synth sounds and heavy acoustic guitar workouts - a good cut, this one, with particularly fine keyboards.
The final two tracks on the album aren't listed on the booklet, the first a soft guitar and percussion song with vocals that have a distinctly "Fish" sound, and elegiac lyrics, while the album closer is a brief essay in recording!
Fans of Barclay James Harvest, Roy Harper, and various of the nu-folk generation will certainly enjoy this album.
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