Hoyle, Linda: The Fetch

My how time flies. In 1970, the British rock band Affinity released their first and only album, fronted by English born singer Linda Hoyle. In 1971 she left the band and released her first solo album Pieces Of Me. Now, forty-four years later she has teamed with Mo Foster, Affinity's original bassist, to release her second long awaited album The Fetch. Foster also adds his engineering and production skills.

I must profess to having been unfamiliar with the back story having only heard of Affinity in passing. After listening to Linda Hoyle's voice for the first time it is hard to believe this talented singer had such a long time between releases as her voice is superb. Her somewhat husky tone and ethereal style makes these tracks totally worth it. She has also enlisted a veteran cast of musicians to help out which further ups the ante.

This is far from a rocking album as Hoyle prefers to take the listener into more ethereal and gentler soundscapes. Listening to this album is quite an emotional experience. Many of the tracks move at a slow pace like the gentle "Snowy Night" with its dreamy pedal steel perfectly invoking mental images of winter and the melancholic jazz ballad "Confessional" where the instruments seem to float like a gently sailing ship, including the subdued brush strokes from Gary Husband. The album opening title track is a little more bluesy before the arrangement gets slightly frenzied, almost something that Peter Gabriel would do. "Cut And Run" has a playful vibe with dreamy electric and acoustic guitar while "Fortuna" settles into a nice groove and rocks a little harder with exceptional Hammond organ from Jim Watson.

On the last track "Acknowledgements" Hoyle lists the artists she has worked with and has been influenced by in a very beautiful tribute . A very classy move by Hoyle.

For softer and gentler fare with lovely vocals, The Fetch is in a word sublime. It does not get much classier than this.

An Angel Air Records production.

Track Listing:
1. The Fetch
2. Cut And Run
3. Confessional
4. Brighton Pier
5. It's The World
6. Fortuna
7. Snowy Night
8. West Of The Moon
9. Maida Vale
10. So Simple
11. Earth And Stars
12. Acknowledgements

Added: September 20th 2015
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Official Site
Hits: 2816
Language: english

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