Nottinghamshire's folkies Lawrence County are avid students of the long and sometimes outright confusing and disputed history of the songs they picked for their Nottamun Town album. The definitive Roud Folk Song Index is the main source for the sleeve notes - Dirty Old Town is not an Irish song and Nottamun might actually refer to Nottingham.
All academia aside, the album itself is a sonic treat, with all musicians pitching in to breathe life into the tracks as if they were brand new. Poor Wayfaring Stranger has a quiet intensity that will shut up the clientèle propping up the bar when they play it live. Murder Ballad Lucy Wan gets a faster treatment than usual, which is quite fitting as the killer makes a run for it.
Reinventing the classics while keeping it in the Americana/roots/folk is a tightrope walk, with plenty of hardcore fans clamuoring a nasty fall. The band members of Lawrence Country are capable of doing a couple of somersaults on their way to the next song. They make it look so easy, but it will frustrate lots of hopefuls as they try to replicate the sound.
Lawrence County:
Al Rate: vocals, guitars, banjo
Bill Kerry III: vocals, electric guitar
Martin Gallimore: fiddle, accordion, mandolin
Pete Heron: bass
Big Bob Carlisle: cajon, percussion
Andy Victor & Lynn Victor: backing vocals
Nottamun Town is a self-released album. Buy it from their website. Release date: July 29.
Tracks:- Nottamun Town
- Peggy Gordon
- Molly Bawn
- Little Pot Stove
- River In The Pines
- Poor Wayfaring Stranger
- Lucy Wan
- Rosin The Beau
- Bonny Light Horseman
- Dirty Old Town
