An improvement that could still use a little work
Villages takes classic Celtic folk and modernizes it with some indie-rock flourish. Their sophomore record, Dark Island, is even grander and wonderstruck than their debut. Still, it’s held back from greatness by weak vocal production and arrangements.
Despite the threatening title, there’s little darkness within the music. Instead, it’s a blast of layered mandolins and other traditional instruments from the jubilant opener “Wearing Through the Pine.” The production gives the mix more color and depth than the original, as the band delivers one enrapturing swell after another. Even when songs adopt a more contemporary pop structure, like “Easy When You Know How,” the joyful ambiance never stops. There’s enough new texture in the serene piano of “Lost Again,” or the soaring fiddle in “Play the Fiddle All Night,” to not feel too homogeneous. Lyrics touching on natural imagery and memory are excellent fits for such evocative music, even if there are too many passages of fluff.
Their self-titled debut closed with the flickering synth pads of “Moonlit.” It created a fragile atmosphere that matched the song’s themes, and was an effective counterpoint to the rest of the record. Dark Island, on the other hand, does not use these synthetic elements to their full potential. Across too much of the track list, the watery post-production delay added to lead singer Mark Ellis’ voice sticks out like a sore thumb against otherwise lush, organic acoustics. The producer directed the band to “play the songs fully live off the floor (three takes max).” Yet they ran with a studio edit that killed any sense of improvisation or rawness. The steady melodic foundation of “Love Will Live On,” the rousing acoustic cheer of “Flower of the Morning,” and the gigantic subdermal drums and plinking piano of “Dawnless Nights” are all tainted by this baffling decision popping up in their choruses.
Ellis’ piercing pseudo-yodeling that crams in too many syllables is an acquired taste. He needs to be given better support in terms of production or arrangement. Wisely, the mix gives him more room to breathe than the debut, and Ellis uses the pipes to work with the album’s musical grandeur. Even then, he’s saddled by that distracting echo haphazardly slathered over the top.
Furthermore, it’s not until the final two songs on the record that he’s given backing vocals with any heft to them. The quaking of “Mother” adds to the song’s uncertainty. The stacked, almost-choir-like arrangement on “Rocks in the Field” ends the album on a definite high note, but overshadows all the predecessors. Even though the music has plenty of gorgeous crescendos, more robust support for Ellis from a backing choir would make them even better.
Villages continue to impress with this blend of tradition and modernity, even if it could be better. A genuinely spectacular Celtic folk revival needs better vocal production and arrangements.
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