One whisky, one bourbon, ten beers, one bottle of tonic wine. You know the story by now for it is Scotland and it’s the time for the pre liver failure reflections on the meaning of life. It’s time for some folk music in other words.
Providing said folk music for those with no intention of ever needing redemption is the redoubtable Josephine Anthony and her cohorts The Last Ones Left. That makes her melancholic approach, whilst no doubt ideally adapted to the confines of the folk music genre, somewhat at odds with the unforced beauty and poise that is to be found infused in her voice. It would take a cold heart indeed not to find enchantment as she drifts delicately through “Now I’m Getting Worried” gamely keeping the entire weight of the world from her shoulders solely by the rock solid conviction underpinning her words and “Torch”, likewise, casts a spell that few could resist.
In comparison, the more conventionally folk flavoured songs such as “Wave Me From The Broomielaw” seem heavy handed and calculated. Add in the generally lacklustre musicianship and you have an album that, for the most part, does not really do justice to the ethereal charm of Ms. Anthony’s voice so, while “Spaces In Between” easily passes the time, it does no more than whet your appetite for another round of Ms. Anthony’s voice.
The album is available from Bandcamp.