Gwyneth
Moreland - Cider
The
personal nature of Gwyneth Moreland’s songwriting is a hallmark of the best
folk music, but her musicality is equally powerful. There’s melody galore
filling the album’s ten songs and rousing vocal performances that never takes
the path of least resistance and, instead, obviously invests enormous emotional
capital in getting over the lyrical content. There are country and blues music
influences making their presence felt throughout the release, but the guiding
spirit behind these recordings is Moreland’s phrasing and the highly literate
quality of her material. Much of the credit for the album’s presentation must
fall on Moreland’s producer David Hayes, a veteran of working with no less of a
legend than Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison. In the end, however, Gwyneth
Moreland rises to the occasion time after time again with a wide ranging
interpretation of her own material that never risks imitation despite her
countless influences.
One
of the strongest added influences on Cider is, certainly, classic country
music. “Movin’ On”, on the basis of title alone, certainly invokes those
motifs, but Moreland never goes in for a craven regurgitation of that style
lacking any personal punch. The shuffle beat never manifests a lot of energy
but it’s an excellent way to introduce listeners to the album’s musical world.
She definitely restrains herself even more with the second song “Broken Road”.
Moreland has an interesting skill for writing material full of obvious love and
deep feeling, yet bring emotions to bear connected with loss and heartache.
There’s a craftsmanship emerging from the album early on that will completely
bring listeners into her world. She invokes traditional folk music at a number
of points throughout Cider and one of the zeniths of that inclination comes
with the song “Little Bird”. The language of her songwriting, however, is never
remote from our modern experience and it makes it clear she views the
traditional music template pursued her as a vibrant vehicle for her own
emotional explorations.
“Farmhouse”
is one of Cider’s more musically direct cuts with straight-forward strummed
guitar and big, blocky chords that strongly announce themselves yet never lack
their own melodic value. It’s certainly one of the album’s lighter musical
number, in the sense that there’s no real feeling of downcast to be heard
throughout its duration, but nonetheless fits in quite nicely with the
remainder of the release. “The California Zephyr” is a traditional folk song
ripped from an uniquely geographic experience, yet it magically invokes both
country and folk traditions without any stylistic confusion. “Danny Parker” is
Moreland’s finest writing on Cider – hands down. This is a lyric rife with
detail and the music is equally up to the task of dramatically depicting the
emotion it invokes. The album’s closing cut, “Summer Song”, ends Cider
surrounded by a brighter hue than many of the other songs aim for and this
slightly surprising final turn is perfectly in keeping with the sense of daring
that makes much of the album work so well. Gwyneth Moreland’s talents are
considerable, but perhaps her greatest talent is for understanding exactly how
to present her own vision in a way that promises to draw in the most listeners.
9
out of 10 stars
Dale
Butcher
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