The Swing Station, Annown’s fifth studio album, marks a change of direction for this North Cornwall-based band. Whilst retaining their story-telling bedrock, musically it is a captivating mix of 50% rockabilly and delta blues, 50% more in a folk vein.
The Americana feel paints Cornwall as the original Wild West. Annown may sing of ‘Deadwood Dick’, real name Richard Bullock, who emigrated from St Austell to the USA to work on the Deadwood Stage, but we’re kept round the imaginary camp fire with smoky tales of Sennen Cove’s Annie George betraying her smuggling fellow villagers. The upbeat opener Wink, with its joyous, cheeky violin riff and bouncing harp solo, informs of a time when a wink and a hand gesture told the landlord you fancied some contraband.
Tales are sourced from across a couple of centuries. In gentle folky tones they sing of Sir Clowdesley Shovell ignoring warnings before his fleet crashed to their deaths on the Scilly rocks, starting the race to solve the longitude problem. Some bluesy piano helps Cut the Redruth Rag celebrate the rock ‘n’ roll club that opened in the 1950s, and in The Jesters, a Bodmin-based skiffle group, are rejuvenated.
Chris Hytch delivers Fine and Brave Lane with an urgency that compliments the theme of the brave women of Mawnan Smith seeing off a French man-o-war. It also brings the first of two guest singers into the chorus, with guest singers Jenny Billing and Kaitlyn Elverson swapping phrases.
For me the showstopper is Selena Moor, a vocal duet between Chris and Kaitlyn. They enact a farmer who thought his lover had died but is in fact in the hands of the small people. It’s a compelling tale and there’s a back-of-the-neck tingle to the two voices which complement each other perfectly.
Chris wrote all the songs and plays all instruments other than the fiddle and mouth harp from his regular bandmate Fred Cartwright. As an experienced producer, he delivers a professional collection of a dozen tales with great stories. Utterly enjoyable, often moving, a perfect and even educational soundtrack for driving from one end of the county to the other. Yehaw!
Adrian Jones, Cornwall Folk Festival
A short stop on a long road
Annown’s new album marks a new horse being hitched to the Annown stagecoach (hence the title), which adds a whole new level to their material. The words are still based on Cornish myth, legends and tales – but musically they have expanded their range to include elements of americana folk and more.
Lots of great songs and music – still a strong Cornish element and firmly in a wider folk tradition. It will be a treat to see these performed live, meanwhile the recording should fly off the shelves once it is released (March?) and you can hear tracks in the New Releases programme on Wreckers.Radio.
Roger C-O Wreckrs Radio
'The Swing Station' expands Annown's soundworlds from the wild west of Cornwall to tales from the Wild West itself, incorporating Americana and bluesy influences, all with a healthy dose of whimsy. Musical storytelling at its best!
Martin Walker Former Contributor to Sound and Sound magazine.