Between The Moon And The Milkman is the stunning debut album from Teesside’s premier chanteuse, Amelia Coburn.

Release Date:  8th March 2024

Label: Self Release

Formats: CD / Vinyl / Digital

THE BACKGROUND

We were thrilled by her recent single, See Saw, and we predicted that her 2024 debut album would be a scorcher.  Well – here it is.  And it is!

Hailing from Teesside, Amelia Coburn has certainly been turning some very distinguished and influential heads over these past twelve months.  Since this time least year, she’s reached the finals of the BBC2 Radio Folk Awards, has participated in the English Folk Expo Artist Mentoring Scheme and won UKE Magazine’s Breakthrough Artist Award.  And all that before she’d even put out a full-length album.  Big things are clearly afoot for Amelia Coburn and, on the evidence offered by Between the Moon and the Milkman, so they should be.

Famed for her distinctive voice and her unique storytelling skills, Amelia numbers Serge Gainsbourg, Scott Walker and Edith Piaff amongst her heroes and, whilst the inspiration of each of those iconic characters is clearly channeled on Between the Moon and the Milkman, I’d also suggest that Kate Bush (in particular) has also had something to say during the course of Amelia’s musical development.

THE VOICE

I’ve mentioned that voice of hers; please bear with me, whilst I dwell a little longer on that particular aspect of Amelia’s formidable arsenal.  Endearing, beguiling, attention-grabbing: they’re all true, but none of them go even halfway to capturing the sheer impact of those luscious vocal chords.  Imagine a Teesside Kate Rusby and you’d be somewhere along the way to understanding how she sounds but, really, the only way to garner a full understanding is to listen, and to be astounded.

And that voice, married to some of the slickest ukelele skills that you’re ever likely to hear (UKE Mag didn’t give her that award for nothing, you know…) means that Amelia Coburn has just about everything she needs to carry off a collection of ten songs without resorting to outside help. 

Or so you’d think, but, for Between the Moon and the Milkman, Amelia has come up with a formula that makes the flawless even better.  She’s teamed up with producer/Songwriter Bill Ryder-Jones and, between them, the pair have found a way to transform Amelia’s delicate ukelele arrangements into something very special indeed.  To Amelia’s vocals, tenor and baritone ukeleles, stick dulcimer and percussion, Bill has added his own drums, percussion, guitars, bass, keyboards, piano, harmonium and mellotron and, to complete the soundscape, he’s also enlisted Phil Murphy to contribute drums to a few tracks.  The result is a set of sumptuously arranged tunes that absorb and adapt influences from Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East as well as from cabaret jazz and psychedelicised baroque pop.

THE STORYTELLING

So that’s the voice and the music – but what about those vaunted storytelling skills?  Well – they’re here in abundance.  Between the Moon And The Milkman is an absorbing collection of tales that take in a whole host of characters, met in the dark shadows of literature, late night film noir screenings and formative travels to places that include the Mexican deserts, the plains of Brazil and the back alleyways of Paris.  Amelia takes up the story: “I know it’s a cliché for an artist to say that they’ve been on a journey… but I’ve truly been on several of them to reach the point of releasing my debut album.  I spent almost two years working and living in Paris, St Petersburg and Mexico City – all whilst keeping my eyes and ears open to the sights, sounds and unusual characters inhabiting these lands that were once so unfamiliar to me.  I’ve been able to fill my songs with these rich details, as well as drawing inspiration from literature, the golden age of film & musicals and the rugged north-east landscape where I was forged.”

The listener is made acutely aware from the outset that Amelia will not be compromising a single inch of her Teesside steel, regardless of where her songs take us, or what the characters within those songs get up to.  That much is clear right from the start of opening track, When The Tide Rolls In, a song in which Amelia uses seascape imagery as a metaphor for fractures in relationships.  Amelia’s Teesside vowels and consonants shine through, even as the tune connects the rocky shores of England to the souks of the Middle East and Amelia’s uke is given all the space it needs to breathe, amidst Bills wild eastern explorations.

Amelia manages to match vulnerability with confident cynicism in her charming delivery of lines like: “Fools follow instructions, they’re so eager to please.  You can borrow or beg, with your tail between your legs and I’m pleading down on my knees” in Nodding Dog.  Bill’s accompaniment builds tastefully and the tune develops a feel that is artfully French.

I’ve already suggested that Amelia and her ukelele are all that’s needed to fully engage any listener in what she has to say and, if any proof was needed to substantiate that claim, it’s here, with the delightful, wistful and soothing, Please Go Gently.  Her uke picking is awesome, her vocals are clear and intimate and, when she sings a line like: “Cradled in my arms,” the shivers shoot down your spine, down the chair leg and right off across the floor.

Things take on a jolly hue for Dublin Serenade, a happy, atmospheric recollection of a late night – or should I say early morning – discovery of a Dublin music bar.  The Guinness is flowing, and so are the songs as Amelia peeps around the door and decides to join the fun, and the story is parceled up as a gentle, joyous, celebratory song with Bill’s splashes of piano and earthy bass just right to soak up any drops of Guinness that go astray.

And it’s Bill’s full band arrangement that brings a wave of sophistication to the Latin-flavoured Of Captain! Bring Us Home.  It’s another of Amelia’s seafaring tales, and the music surges forward with a full gust of wind in its sails.  Amelia’s vocal is simply stunning, particularly as she reaches for the heavens at the “Under the canopy of stars and the thunder of Mars in our cries” climax.  And the band stay at full blast for the bluesy, raucous Sleepy Town; Amelia almost whips her uke as she tells her story of a jilted lover who decides to cut her losses and quit Teesside for adventures in Mexico or Brazil.  If you were of the impression that Amelia Coburn could never be assertive, this is a song that’ll make you think again.  Not half.

SEE SAW

We’ve already expressed our adoration for See Saw, the album’s lead single, within these pages, but I’m more than happy to do so again.  A baroque waltz that is both amusing and threatening, the enticingly delicate tune belies the darkness in Amelia’s lyrics, as she sings of witchcraft, sacrifice and mysterious creatures lurking in the hours between the rising of the moon and the appearance of the milkman.  It’s shiveringly glorious.

And so is Amelia’s vocal on Sandra, a song in which the evocative lyrics offer a vivid reminder of the early works of Kate Bush  It’s Bill’s richest production – he’s even included a sprinkling of strings – and the overall effect is dreamy and only very slightly sinister.  I love Amelia’s descriptive lyrics to the bright, rocky Perfect Storm.  Amelia seeks the freedom of the sea and the sky, and lyrics like: “Emerald days, watched the clouds that looked like butter that were spread across the skies and melting in the sun” paint an exhilarating picture.

It came around too quickly but, in every other way, the bluesy 20s rag, I’d Love to Love You (The Nilsson Song) is the perfect way to close such a wonderful album.  Amelia plays some more of her clever ukelele licks as she delivers her final, stunning, close-up vocal.  And, best of all, her uncompromised Teesside accent adds something really special to the song’s (and the album’s) closing line: “I’d love to love you anytime.”

Between the Moon and the Milkman is very special indeed.  We’ll be playing this one a lot over the coming months and, if you know what’s good for you, you should do the same.

And, if you don’t want to just take my word for it, you can pop along and see for yourself.  Over the next few weeks, Amelia will be performing gigs in just about every corner of the country; try and catch up with her at:

• 30^th May: McChuils, Glasgow
• 31^st May: The Met Studio, Bury
• 1^st June: The Barrelhouse Collective, Totnes
• 3^rd June: The Kitchen Garden, Birmingham
• 3^rd June: Slaughtered Lamb, London
• 5^th June: Folklore, Brighton
• 8^th June: The Georgian Theatre, Stockton

Watch the brilliant new video to Sleepy Town below:

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