Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
It can feel at times as if we are at a point in history that the walls of our existence are not only crumbling, but on the verge of falling, of crashing to the ground and causing long lasting tremors that will have effects on the long-term mental health future of all who walk in our wake.
The Dark Harvest we have begun to reap is one of concern, one of peril, and now more than ever we require art to fill our lives in the hope that its determination of spirit will conquer the void of chaff supplied by politicians and anti-humanist behaviour, and by highlighting the path we tread as we place the kernels of the misbegotten into the bags by our side, so we might find a way to remove ourselves from the dangers we have willingly immersed ourselves within.
To understand the past, we must first explore our present place on Earth, the influence we cheaply purchase is rooted by turning our backs on the intelligently unique who seek to place a deep-rooted commitment to beauty and honour at our feet, whilst all the time offering a vision of their life, their trails and how it came from a period born of hope.
Malcom MacWatt’s mixture of the Americana and British Folklore is the epitome of the instrument that saves our souls each time we listen to it, that of the human expression across a breadth of subjects we are subjected to, we can fiercely bring art to answer for the occasion, for the despair, and for the heartbreak we may encounter.
It is the bravery of being personal about your beliefs, whether spiritual or political, without going on an offensive rant that sets up the physical release, and Malcolm MacWatt lays it down with precision as tracks such as The Church & The Crown, Empire In Me, Brave David Tyrie, Buffalo Thunder, Drowsy Maggie, the sublime album closer of Semi Scotsman, and the devotion to folk found absolutely throughout the recording all grant the listener access to a place of generosity of spirit, of being a key witness to a dawn that can, and must devour the darkness once and for all.
Dark Harvest is an album that shows you don’t have demand attention to be noticed, and with additional vocal support from the likes of Angeline Morrison and Nathan Bell, and the studded brilliance of Pat McManus, that notice of instruction, of insight is at first hand a terrific gathering of material and musicianship.
Malcolm MacWatt releases Dark Harvest on January 26th via Need To Know Music.
Ian D. Hall