Amidst Fiery Skies

This is the second album from the Cambridge-based five-piece who blend Americana with English folk music. Here on Amidst Fiery Skies they present a mix of 11 self-penned and traditional songs that dig firmly into the well-trodden vein of damsels on the quayside and emigrants setting sail for distant shores, with a rollicking Celtic sound that includes fiddle and bodhrán and the stateside sound of the banjo.

Their music is at its most haunting on traditional numbers such as ‘Maid of Culmore’ and ‘The Visitor’ – full of rich, melancholic storytelling. At other points, the lyrics can stray closer to cliché, such as on the ‘land of the free’ emigrant anthem ‘Shores’. Their choruses, too, offer fine catchy melodies that might feel a little too mainstream-country-friendly for some tastes. However, there are spirited moments that stand out, such as the short but striking ‘Daughter’ with its sharp little couplets: ‘My mother said to me, don’t listen to the pretty boys ‘cos pretty boys are mean … My father said to me, don’t listen to your mother for your mother married me.’