Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The dynamic of the forever shifting and evolving natural scene is one that we seem to have developed a complex relationship with, far removed from a time when we found ourselves enhanced by nature, by the rugged moors and the quiet dignity of large forests and the sound of the sea as it bears down upon welcoming shores; instead we have found solace in the concrete and the unchangeable, the rigid and the unyielding.
In this dichotomy of the Velvet & Stone we may be forgiven for acting in a way that defies logical freedom and the sense of the specific, we shroud ourselves in the cushioning flow of the materialistic and the talisman in which will hope to bring us fulfilment; and yet we still regard nature as an enemy to be crushed, to see the landscape as an opportunity to build rather than to feel at peace within.
It is in that sense of perspective, solitude and reconciliation with harmony that Velvet and Stone’s self-titled debut album is one that defies the rush to cover the world with concrete and instead divulges sentiment in the openness of expression and the crafted style of the wild, untamed thought.
Creativity is nature harnessed but still allowed, implored, to grow beyond the limitations set out by the rough end of humanity’s restrictive bonds. In this field of imagination, the traditional threaded beauty that searches out through the forests and entangled minds, Lara Snowden, Katheryn Tremlett, Paddy Blight, Kev Jackson, Garry Kroll, Josiah Manning and Miles Snowden deliver a seriously passionate album with sincerity and inspiration,
Through the songs Fisherman’s Blues, Lay Her Down, Breathe, By The Water, Am I Dreaming? and I’ll Dream Of You Tonight, the haunting scene of the band’s home of Devon comes blazing through, the mysterious and the vision we seek away from the concrete jungle is placed with respect inside the minds of the listener and given originality and freedom to immerse themselves in the Folk melodies at hand.
Velvet & Stone is a plush and free-spirited album which captures the ideals set out by the band over the course of the last five years of the touring set and their vision to come; quite breath taking!
Ian D. Hall