“Tristan” conjures up images of castles, knights, horses, battles, poet’s, and more broken hearts. It’s another well crafted and atmospheric song. The album’s centrepiece “Friends” eases in slowly as if it were a scene from a film. When Isabelle sings, ‘then you took me to the shore again’, you become locked within the song, listening to her every word.
There is a clear understanding between them through the music that they create. They carefully compliment each other without ever competing for space. They draw the maximum effect from every line, nurturing the songs and fully developing the idea within each.
The combination of the sadness within Isabelle’s voice, and David’s interpretation through his guitar melts together like the ingredients in a recipe. The traditional song “Railroad Boy” is the only track on the album that is not an original. It is brought to life here beautifully. The delightful “Lokken” continues the generally sad vibe.
“Folk Song” maintains the strength and leads to the closing track “Whatever They Say I’m A Princess”. This is the song they released on their first low key outing. It’s easy to see why it has been revived here. The cello of Lea Le Meur adds an extra texture that completes the picture.
There has obviously been a huge amount of love and care that has been eased into the creation of this album. Every song is intensely personal and written straight from the troubled heart. On Concrete is a fine album by a duo who clearly believe in the music they produce.
When I set out on the good ship Eurorock it was in the hope of finding unearthed gems such as this. There are many bands struggling to break out and to get the right amount of exposure so that their music can be heard. With songs that connect in this way, Pollyanna should be able to do exactly that.
Have a listen on the Pollyanna website.
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