Now there’s a new version of the song like you’ve never heard it before sung by a trio of modern folk/rock titans. The tune’s nomenclature is also what this group has decided to call themselves: Bonny Light Horseman, comprised of Anaïs Mitchell, Fruit Bats’ Eric D. Johnson and Josh Kaufman , will release their self-titled debut album on Friday, and it’s a gold mine for historical musical references and twinkling folklore that feels familiar, but is often something entirely new.
The eponymous title track isn’t the only song on Bonny Light’s gleaming debut that has an ancient flair. “The Roving,” a reworking of the classic traditional song “,” features a fresh chorus newly written for an ancient ballad structure. As Johnson pointed out in a recent press release, the lyrics could fit any time period, which is why they’re so universally affecting. On “Mountain Rain,” Johnson takes center stage again to tell the story of African American folklore hero John Henry.
“This record is about timeless humanity,” Johnson said in the press materials. “These 500-year-old lyrics are so deeply applicable. ‘The Roving’ could be the plot of an ’80s teen movie: ‘I had a wild summer with this awesome girl then she broke my heart!’ How incredible is it that as humans we still just want to love and have sex and feel sad and fight? It’s ancient music that feels, emotionally, right now. It’s thoroughly modern.
“Blackwaterside,” too, refurbishes the ancient form of chorus-less balladry for 2020 listeners. Johnson and Mitchell trade off lead vocals before sinking into a hypnotic harmony. They use the old English expression “Fare thee well” throughout the song as they sing a mournful marriage chant. “Deep In Love” is as entrancing as anything on this album, but it’s actually an old Fruit Bats draft. Johnson wrote it for his 2019 album, but it’s arguably more at home among these swirling songs of old.
The plucky “Jane Jane” features a call-and-response courtesy of Johnson and Mitchell. “Children go where I send thee / How shall I send thee?” Mitchell sings. It’s equal parts nursery rhyme, hymn and dark folktale. So why does it sound so distinctly modern, even, too? It’s nearly inexplicable, but that’s part of Bonny Light Horseman’s appeal. This music is transatlantic, multi-cultural and century-spanning.
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