Reviews
Charm Of Finches Album: Treading Water
Label: AntiFragile
Tracks: Single
Website: https://charmoffinchesband.com/home
I have Philip Henry and Hannah Martin to thank for introducing me to Charm of Finches, because Edgelarks teamed up with sisters Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes to play Mabel's song "Miranda" as part of the Global Music Match project in which musicians performed with others in order to increase their fan base. I have to admit, the concept worked brilliantly and I now count myself as a Charm of Finches fan. Hopefully, amongst their other fans there are now some who have discovered Edgelarks.
The sad thing abouth Ivy and Mabel, at least for me, is that they come from Melbourne in Australia, so there is little chance that I'll get to see them play live. Still, we can all dream.
They have released two albums, to date, "Staring at the Starry Ceiling" and "Your Company", and an EP "Home", with a third album due for release on their record label, 'Talking To Trees', later this year. "Pockets Of Stones", a track from the new album was released as a single in March, this year, and "Treading Water" is their second single from the new album. I presume the exquisite song "Miranda" will also appear on the new album, but whether it will feature Phil and Hannah waits to be seen.
The first thing that strikes you about any Charm of Finches song is the vocals. Their intricate harmonies are beautiful, hypnotic and gently soothing, despite the lyrics tending to be mournful and thought provoking. But the sisters' talents don't just lie in their glorious voices: Mabel also pays acoustic guitar, cello, piano electric guitar and the ukulele, whilst Ivy plays the violin, banjo, glockenspiel, piano, the guitar, and also the ukulele.
"Treading Water" is co-produced and mixed by Daniel Ledwell, who also accompanies the girls on electric guitar - just the odd note here and there, but wow - the guitar cuts through like a knife into your heart.
The song, on the face of it, is a fond memory of a previous relationship, that went sour. The break up hurt at the time, but now, thinking back, they can recall the good and happy times: the day they walked the 10km from Footscray (a town in the suburbs of Victoria), down to the charmingly named beach of Seaholme; camping under the stars; skinny dipping at sunset. But they can also recall the fear that the relationship was doomed to fail, long before it had actually ended - an awareness that felt as if they were treading water. And then the feeling of loss and grief, like mourning even though that person hadn't died. Phenomenal harmonies at the end when they repeatedly sing that they went from treading water to drowning 'eventually drowned each other, grab hold of you and pulled you under'. The way their voices weave around feels like you are being dragged in and pulled down below water.
Charm of Finches style of music is variously referred to, I believe, as chamber folk, baroque folk, or gothic folk. I'm not talented enough to be able to tell, but I believe the style is based around DADGAD tuning, possibly based around the tuning of an oud, which apparently gives rise to a charateristic suspended-fouth D chord.
True to the baroque folk name, the girls' visual image is suitably like they'd walked out of a pre-Raphaelite painting. They always seem to be wearing long flowing dresses, with long flowing hair, bedecked with flowers, with that certain look as if they'd just ridden there on a unicorn.
Such amazingly talented young ladies. Can't wait for the new album, and cannot thank Edgelarks enough for introducing Charm of Finches to the UK.
Pete Bradley
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