Oxlip – aka Jayne Trimble – was recently nominated for Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2022 Canadian Folk Music Awards. On this side of the pond Folk and Tumble has for some time recognised the exceptional talents of the artist originally from County Down. Jayne Trimble may have made Canada her family home in recent decades but clearly the spiritual home is steeped in this island. To this end, the new album is a fusion of the traditional with North American roots, with an enigmatic psychedelic twist.
Jayne Trimble first caught the ear of Folk and Tumble some years ago with her beautiful album ‘In the Morning’. Re-branding as Oxlip, she released ‘Wolves! Cried the Maid’ a few years back. Now for 2022, with support from British Columbia’s Career Development Programme, she releases the exquisite ‘Come All Ye Fair and Tender Maidens’ – an exploratory, psychedelic approach to traditional folk sounds.
As you might expect from a classically trained Checkovian actress, Oxlip’s sound carries a sense of drama, darkness, feminine disappointment and dilemma. Her voice is so pure and pitch perfect, yet it brings with it a notion that nothing is not quite as it seems – that she stands on the edge of some musical search or quest – ridden with unanswered questions. This is why this idea of psychedelically exploring the traditional suggests cross-generational, spiritual and mindful investigation, linking the past with the present – and making a legacy for future generations (should humanity survive).
Oxlip’s work is always cerebral. It whispers of times past, when we lived more simply, with a close connection to nature. Even the moniker is a nod to the little woodland wild flower, which incidentally has some medicinal qualities for the ease of fever. Also interesting to note that the artist is inspired by music’s ‘restorative properties as much as she is intrigued by the intricacies of the natural and metaphysical worlds, paradoxes in classical literature, and the complex legacies of Victorian-era gender politics.’
These themes are stamped throughout this new album – from the opening, title track ‘Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies,’ to the oft-covered American folk ballad ‘Little Sadie’ – the stories of women trapped and troubled are woven into the fabric of Trimble’s theme-box. Silent, well-behaved women who should know their place – yet scratch the surface and the real psyche of these characters emerge – no less so than in ‘Butcher Boy’ (no relation to Patrick McCabe’s novel as far as I know) – a story of survival from masculine toxicity whether physical or psychological.
The album features ‘Siúil a Rún’, a traditional Irish song, sung from the point of view of a woman lamenting a lover who has embarked on a military career, and indicating her willingness to support him.
Birth, deaths and marriages meet in Oxlip’s latest. ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken’ is an old, traditional hymn, often recorded, reworked and adjusted over the years. In each of these traditional tunes, Trimble brings her own, self-defined, carefully thought through interpretation – not least in ‘All My Trials’ – a folk song that became popular during the social protest movements of the fifties and sixties, most notably by Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary.
Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Old Paint’ gets new lease of life Oxlip style, before finishing up with ‘All the Good Times are Past and Gone‘ – a rare collection of the best of bluegrass and what you might call classical Americana.
There’s just so much going on in this album – layers of sound and curiosities that blend to create a special studio album that fuses European and American traditions and folk features – with abstract psychedelic elements.
Maybe the popular Prime show Outlander has led to a resurgence in the origins of cross-Atlantic folk and traditional music. Named for the eponymous Appalachian ballad, and featuring many traditional tunes that have been well-explored and interpreted across the decades, these 21st century re-worked recordings breathe new life into their very souls – making them meaningful for the 2020s – ethereal and spare.
Enchanting, spiritual, magnetic and madrigal in style – there’s twists and turns as Oxlip brings us a mix of banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar alongside the quiet presence of organ and synth continuo.
The beauty of Oxlip’s work is in its hidden mysteries, that sense of magic, misplaced.