“Whoo hoo witchy woman, she got the moon in her eye.”
If you want more I refer you to the Eagles. Lyrically and atmospherically we’re talking Liz Overs though. ‘Nightjar,’ is a hauntological slice of shivery trad and lore centric composition. At times I thought I was listening to a ghostly echo of Pentangle, especially a worked over ‘Cruel Sister,’ which ends not with retribution but straight forward murder. All manner of instruments weave together in a delicate lace or webbing which creates the atmopsherics for Liz Overs distinctive voice to sing about young women gone wrong, familial lunacy, charms for the faeries, strong feminine character, I could go on but I’m sure you’re getting the idea that this is just a bit different and a lot deeper than most folk releases. You’d be right too.
Somewhere in her background lurks club – I don’t mean folk club – land success, but you’d never connect that with this eerie debut in which Overs is supported effectively and appropriately by Neil MacColl on assorted guitars, plugged and unplugged, Ben Nicholls intelligent double bass and banjo, David Tomlins on more guitars and mandolin. Add in snatches of speech, found sounds and wildlife and you’ve something which creates its own enchantment. Based in Suffolk and proud of it, Liz has worked within and around folk lore over recent times, mermaids, schemed in museums and somehow fittingly leads singing walks across the local heathland. The CD comes covered in a mass of flying crows, whilst the cover image by Jennifer Binnie is mysterious and arcane. Her own compositions blend and bleed in with the traditional seamlessly creating a challenging but worthwhile effort. Quite something.
“Echoed voices in the night, she’s a restless spirit on an endless flight.”
Simon Jones
