Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
No matter the transport available, you should always take up the offer of being shown what lays on the other side of the unknown, to Cross The Rolling Water and into the harbours that encompass the unfamiliar, the strangely haunting, and the mysterious new; for how else are we to suggest that we are willing to be more than just a representation of what we have always been, that if we cannot operate the oars of discovery, that if the sails or the rigging is too much for us, then we don’t deserve to be anything other than stranded in our own town and fields of close minded affairs forever.
We can traverse such monuments of white water crests and ferocious storms that seem to swell on the sea with a greater significance than on land, but it helps if we are aided in our quest of discovery by one who has our back, who can hold the wheel whilst we change tack and observe the way for potential waterfalls and squalls that may come our way; and for Hannah Read, who had already gained a status of love amongst fans of the genre with her solo recording Way Out I’ll Wander, the union with Michael Starkey is one that is akin to adding three engines to a craft that has already navigated the world, but which becomes a ship of wonder in the duo’s hands.
Cross The Rolling Water sees the pairing’s distinctive styles and pleasures come to the fore, and in tracks such as Blue River, Charleston, Rose Tree, Ready For The Times To Get Better, Leonard’s Blues, and Old Kentucky Whiskey, old sensations are renewed, new adventures are given pride of place on the musical cartography map, and whereas others might be satisfied with the experience, the listener understands that there is yet more power to come, that they depth of belief they have so far intensely delivered, can only lead to larger oceans being targeted, being crossed with confidence.
A gorgeously produced album, full of sound and leeward pursuit, Hannah Read & Michael Starkey have come about with panache and style.
Hannah Read & Michael Starkey release Cross The Rolling Water on June 3rd via Hudson Records.
Ian D. Hall