Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
We never used to be so out of tune with the call of nature, but then of you tear down the countryside, if you pull up trees and spray poison after poison into the soil and the air, if you turn greenbelt land into concrete monstrosities just to placate the bloated figure of economy, then it could be thought of that nature, in all her glory, has abandoned us.
We forgot to listen to the birds, we neglected to hear their call to the point that should we hear the demanding voice of the magpie or the ravenous rumble of insistence from the seagull as it hovers above our discarded chip wrappers and thrown away-half eaten fast food, its beady eyes always on alert then for some reason we pass that off as being close to nature; it is no wonder then so many in the country cannot fathom the sweetness in the voice of the Curlew, the Chaffinch, the elegance in the flight of the hummingbird as they all undertake at some a dance that others might call the Northern Flyway.
The human familiars of the air, we may ignore them to our detriment, however Jenny Sturgeon and Inge Thomson, alongside huge contributions from Jason Singh, Sarah Hayes, and the superb bird samples provided by Magnus Robb, have sought and found a way to honour these beautiful creatures to whom have provided us with inspiration and passion since we first spied them using the prevailing winds to conquer the heavens.
It is in this exploration of capturing the soul of the birds that Northern Flyaway has found that it is never too late to hear the majesty of the dawn chorus in full flight, that every so often if we remove the headphones and listen to the world and take interest, consider awareness of the song from the hedgerow, that might just lead us back to a world in which we are part of nature, not alienating it from our sight.
The music created is beautiful, a sense of the exquisite and fundamental, most of all it has life, intelligence and sparkling engagement, and in tracks such as Rosefinch, No Barriers, No Borders, Curlew, We are the Morning, Nomad and Owls that wisdom of the performance shines through as if carried by the Gods’ own messengers across the sky.
An album of panache, Northern have done for nature and the birds what Vivaldi did for the seasons, captured its heart with outstanding excellence.
Northern Flyway release their self-titled album on September 14th via Hudson Records.
Ian D. Hall