Featuring a mix of revamped traditional tunes given a Bonfire Radicals make over and original material, ‘The Space Between’ mixes Celtic themes with World music, all driven by energetic beats and magical melodies.
The six piece band open the album with a radical re-working of ‘Brenda Stubbert’s Reel’. Fiery violin soars over a pulsating backdrop of guitars, bass and drums. Quickly followed by ‘The Bonfire’, the pace doesn’t let up for one minute on this quirky folk rocker that features some exciting interplay between recorder and clarinet.
It’s inevitable that comparisons will be made with the music of the Bonfire Radicals and some of the great folk, rock, prog bands of the 1970’s. Moreover, that’s fair. Yes, there are large hints of Jethro Tull, Focus and Fairport Convention in their music, but, their vigour and energetic playing takes their music and sound to a new level, far beyond the roots laid down by their ground-breaking predecessors.
Taking a step back from the frenetic pace of the music, the one vocal track on the album, ‘Mary Ashford’, weaves a mournful tale in this Birmingham based murder ballad, based on a true life 19th century double murder.
The whimsical ‘Satsuma Moon’ has firm hints of jazz influences within, while the playful ‘Café De Flore’ delights with a Caribbean style rhythm underpinning the folky woodwind and violins. However, when it comes to picking the personal favourite on the album, that accolade goes to the powerful sweeping pipe organ drenched ‘Coffee Countdown’. A tune that finds roots within Bulgarian culture, here it’s a marvellous over the top romp.
‘The Space Between’ provides a fresh take on the folk rock genre with accessible and exciting music.