‘Country Mile’ is the follow up to Johnny Flynn’s 2011 release ‘Been Listening’. Out on Transgressive records later this month, it’s been two years in the making, involved a process which Flynn has called “demoing with intent” and well, the results speak for themselves.
The T-Shirt I bought as my last Johnny Flynn gig is now far too small. Adorned with a sailing ship, it lies abandoned in a drawer much like the rusted old vessel on the cover of ‘Country Mile’. Has the good ship Flynn run aground? In some ways yes. This record marks something of a departure from the former two records and yet at once is still instantly recognisable. The big boat whereupon we may once have swayed, swigged rum and sang along to shanty-like choruses might have come to shore but with this release the journey continues o’er land, back to the sea, to the sky and beyond.
This is a record for the journeyman. The undefinable country mile of the title track holds meaning to the travellers amongst us. The student. The troubadour. The carpetbagger or the cowboy.
From the first steps of this adventure we’re on rockier ground. As ‘Country Mile’ crunches in like Dylan going electric at Newport. There are nods to the greats of Americana aplenty with obvious kudos paid to those who’ve trod the road before like Guthrie, Nelson and Hank but despite the swathes of lap-steel on ‘After Eliot’ there remains something distinctively British within the baritone delivery and the poetic wit.
‘The Lady Is Risen’ was our introduction to this record. It’s the perfect definition of the record. Stellar delivery, beautifully written and heaped with Crosby, Stills and Nash harmonies. It’s slow bluesy brooding dictates our journey’s pace. We’re on foot here. Enjoying days of gentle breezes and lacking in the trappings of big city life; From South East London to American Midwest in the blink of an eye.
The escapism continues with ‘Murmuration’. It’s the name given to that beautiful formation of starlings you often sea darkening the sky as the rise and fall in the twilight over country fields and city suburbs. And that is where we are. This track swoops and soars true to form. Like the rest of the album it’s darkly hopeful but a beautiful thing to behold.
From gypsy caravans to remote islands and the bottom of the sea we continue on this journey. Our wagon, boat or weary boots are shared with Flynn and all the country greats and heroes of folklore who’ve made these journeys of love, loss and discovery before. And then it appears to be over. ‘Time Unremembered’ was written last, played last and marks the end of this journey. It transcends to somewhere as yet unexplored. Undiscovered. Unseen and unheard. So far.