Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
When someone offers you their heart, is it polite to take it, to hopefully cherish it and keep it safe from harm or does the thought of such responsibility make you breathe strangely, make you feel wary of the possible outcomes, that somewhere down the road you will be the one to break it, tear it apart and scar it forever. When Rachel Newton proposes the notion, Here’s My Heart Come Take It, it is almost a veiled threat, a conjuring of emotions that knows what you are capable of doing to the sensitive organ and should you not take it seriously then the repercussions are too immense to deal with.
Take her heart though you must, cherish it you should and as each song propositions the mystery of love, of attraction and of the irresistibility of Celtic intrigue; it is the proffering of such delight that makes the album stand out beyond the norm, the first date that leads to eventual proposal and the feel of Scottish mist in the distance crawling along to draw a veil over the night’s attention.
The founding member of the incredible The Furrow Collective makes her third solo album not only sound sweet and full of sincerity; it is enormous in its scope whilst never allowing the music to overshadow the lyrical beauty and it is one with which the offering a woman’s heart, of an artist’s empathy and compassion, is to be hold as tightly close as possible and allowed the freedom to roam to allow the song to capture the world’s own passion.
Utilising harps, piano, keyboards and percussion to the fullest effect and with the uniqueness of Lauren MacColl’s fiddle and Michael Ower’s hauntingly melancholic trombone, the empathy of spirit and true sensitivity of the music is enrapturing and kind; it is the heart and soul of a musical tenderness.
With tracks such as the musically adept The Bloody Gardener, the honest endeavour of Don’t Go Out Tonight My Darling, An Hour With Thee and Chaidh Mo Dhonnchadh Dhan Bheinn all filling the void beautifully, it is impossible not to take Rachel Newton’s heart and feel the pleasure of holding the soft beat pulsating within your hands.
A very beautifully created album, Here’s My Heart Come Take It is affection made real, compassion for someone else’s heart has never been filled with so much sensitivity.
Ian D. Hall