Hannah’s first album under her own moniker, 'Elephant Eye', was a startling introduction to a startling new talent, with politicised songs like 'Your Country's Not At War' and tender songs like 'In It For Love'. The new record continues in the same vein but is much more eclectic and Hannah's voice proves versatile enough to cross genres with effortless grace.
From the plaintive ballad of album opener ‘Never Get Along’ to the rockabilly twang of ‘Gotta Work Harder’, to the Bo Diddley beat of ‘City Beats’, to the pop sensibilities of ‘Start Again’, Hannah White and the Nordic Connections move adeptly through the gears. Here, they have produced a piece of work that bears repeated listening, and with any justice will get the airplay it richly deserves.
Stand out track is the stark confessional tale, ‘My Father’. It tells of his struggles to care for his family by fair means or foul.
My Father always yearned for more. My father always broke the law. Was sent away frequently where he wrote prose and poetry.
The deeply affecting last verse will stay with the listener a while.
When my father passed away he didn’t leave enough to pay for his funeral and grave. It cost more than we could save.
The album was recorded in Bergen, Norway, using musicians from the city – The Nordic Connections, with HP Gunderson, in particular, standing out with some sterling pedal-steel work. Hannah’s husband Kieron Marshall also deserves special mention for his guitar work on the infectious ‘City Beats’. Like many artists whose work has been affected by the Covid-19 crisis Hannah White and the Nordic Connections planned tour has had to be put on hold.
Keep your ear to the ground for rearranged dates because this album signals an artist of real merit, one who is it for the long haul.