Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Poetry is derided by some as nothing more than a waste of time, a harshly delivered mantra, almost always attached to glowering sneer of projected snobbery, the sermon instructed by those who cannot see the value in the search for beauty and meaning when a dark lonely road is being travelled upon and the urge to light the way for others when their time comes to traverse the same bumps and widening holes, is paramount.
Poetry, in all its forms and artistic temperaments, requires thought, a quick cursory examination never fulfils the justice of appreciation deserved, the same goes for travel, anybody can do a quick tour of Paris, a cursory scan of New York and a quick dip into any town or city in their own country but unless you have lived the life of the road, that instead of taking a self-congratulations type photograph, you instead sit for a while and reflect upon the splendour before you and understand what it means to be alive, that life in all its glory can be seen to remarked of that She Wynds On.
Calum Woods commissioned work of She Wynds On reflects the stunning beauty to be found by the traveller as they make their way through the Cairngorms National Park and its beaten tarmac intrusion known as the SnowRoads, a spectacular sense of identity which lays between the cities of Inverness, Aberdeen and Dundee, a brief skirting of life which pulsates with emotion, which brings the natural balance of humanity and nature into closer perspective.
A soundtrack in which to discover the 90 miles of the SnowRoads through the heart of the Cairngorms, a dialogue of passion in which compositions act as points of reference on the map, from Blairgowie to Braemar, Braemar to Ballater, Ballater to Tomintoul and Tomintoul to Granton-On-Spey and in the E.P.’s title track, She Wynds On is an interchange of information and scenic discussions waiting to be admired.
A grand gesture of music by Calum Woods, subtle and time honoured, She Wynds On, never complaining, always willing to take you further than you believe was ever possible; all it takes to reciprocate the meaning is to take in the scenery before you, to feel at peace with what is being shown.
Ian D. Hall