Quill: Brush With The Moon

Here is an album that seems to be somewhat of an anomaly. British band Quill are a county/folk band that you would normally associate with North America, given the country music moniker. That said, their new album Brush With The Moon, while having a country feel at times, is as much folk and Celtic music with a distinctly British sound. In the band are Dave Bailey (acoustic guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Joy Strachan-Brain (lead vocals), newest member Bev Bevan (drums, percussion), Tim Tandler (drums, percussion), Kate McWilliam (violin, backing vocals), Tony Kelsey (mandolin, guitar, backing vocals) and Matt Davies (bass guitar, backing vocals).

The late Ben Brain who played bass in the band is the main source of inspiration behind the album. All ten tracks were written by Ben and his vocals were used from the original demos. As you might imagine this is a bittersweet affair. The cover art is a watercolour painting by Ben and booklet artwork includes drawings by both Ben and his daughter Jenna Swann.

This is a very melodic album and the lead vocals of Joy are quite soothing and angelic as she is a fine singer. The players are all good on their respective instruments but this isn't an album where you will be blown away by mind numbing musicianship. Here it is all about melody and gentler acoustic based soundscapes. The violin is quite prominent in some tracks like the Celtic folk ballad "England" and the pretty "Poppy Fields" as is the acoustic guitar, which is particularly moving in the tender "Hollywood Blue", featuring the understated vocals of Ben. In the mellow bluegrass of "Twister" I was reminded of Bob Dylan while the gentle "Man in White" ends the album with on a somber note with exquisite vocals from Joy and news samples from 911. The song does pick up the tempo and the orchestrations do become more intense.

Brush With The Moon is really quite enjoyable. Although it is a tad mellow for my taste, when I want to relax in quiet contemplation this album should do the trick quite nicely in that regard.

Track Listing:
1. Quicksilver
2. Tumbling Years
3. Schoolyard
4. Poppy Fields
5. Nine Mile Camp
6. England
7. Hollywood Blue
8. Wedding Dress
9. Twister
10. Man in White

Added: August 24th 2015
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 2025
Language: english

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