‘Official’ release of One Star Awake – the exquisite third album from Yorkshire duo Plumhall.  Not to be missed – under ANY circumstances.

Release Date:  7^th June 2024

Label: Splid Records

Formats: CD / Digital

If your musical interests include any aspect of what’s happening on the UK indie folk scene, then you’ll be well aware of Plumhall and the sheer magic that the band’s principal figures – Michelle Plum and Nick B Hall – weave, once they start to make music.  Plumhall already have two highly-acclaimed albums under their collective belt – Thundercloud (2014) and The Ghost Of Noise (2020) and we’re delighted to announce that album #3, One Star Awake, is now – officially – with us.

I say ‘officially’ because, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll be aware that Plumhall well and truly rocked the At The Barrier boat when they accompanied Fairport Convention on their 2024 Winter Tour and you won’t be surprised to hear that we took the opportunity, then, to grab a couple of advance copies of One Star Awake whilst they were available on Plumhall’s merch stand.  As far as we’re concerned, One Star Awake is already a well-loved album!

Plumhall are husband and wife duo Michelle and Nick and they hail from Bierley in West Yorkshire.  Michelle was a member of Chumbawumba for 4 years and she’s also worked with The Chris Norman Band and Waking the Witch.  Nick was formerly with Ian Prowse & Amsterdam (and still occasionally playing with Ian including a festival in August), Magna Carta and The Hall Brothers.  As a duo, the pair have appeared on stages with artists as highly regarded as Al Stewart, Larry Campbell and Phil Beer, as well as with Fairport during the recent tour – but we’ll come back to that one later…

What’s REALLY important about Plumhall is the heavenly sounds that Michelle and Nick produce between them.  Michelle sings like a celestial angel – she’s Karen Carpenter, reimagined for West Yorkshire.  And, as well being a pretty amazing guitarist, Nick is also the owner of an awesome set of vocal pipes and, whenever the pair harmonise, as they do in almost every song, you just have to drop whatever you’re doing to give them your full attention.  What’s more, for One Star Awake, Michelle and Nick are joined by David P Crickmore, on bass, percussion, synths, piano, electronica and pedal steel and James Crickmore on drums.  The result is a wonderfully soothing, ethereal, sophisticated, collage of sound that pervades the entire album.

And that’s not all; the colours and textures of One Star Awake are enhanced still further by a few special guests…

The ethereal theme of One Star Awake is evident right from the outset, on Silent Voices, the album’s dreamlike opener.  Throbbing percussion, waves of synth and the first taste of those delicious vocal harmonies take the song as far away form its folky roots as it’s possible to get – in the most beautiful way possible.  And, if you’ve doubted the sincerity of my rhapsodizing over Michelle’s voice, then cock an ear to Way Down In The Well – a folkier number with acoustic guitars to the fore and some nice electric guitar fills from Nick – her vocals would send shivers down the back of a snowman.

One Star Awake – the album’s title track and its lead single – already sounds like a well-loved old friend.  Attendees at the Fairport Winter Tour will recall this song as the one on which they were joined onstage by Fairport, and Fairport’s Ric Sanders is guesting here, on violin.  Nick and Michelle share the vocals on this rocky, uplifting song – certainly one of the best new songs to appear in 2024 so far – and, as I listened, I had a thought:  Will Michelle and Nick be invited onto the Cropredy stage this August to perform a reprise…?  I sincerely hope so…

Acoustic guitars and piano provide the drive on the fast, rocky, Crystal Ball, whilst Nick takes the vocal lead and Michelle harmonises as only she can, before Michelle steps forward to take the mic for the wonderful This Room (Locks and Bolts).  On an album packed with divine vocals, this one is maybe her very best, and Eliza Marshall’s flute is the cherry that sits atop Michelle’s sweet vocal icing.  The acoustic guitars, bass and soft drums are restrained and perfectly balanced; it’s a beautiful song.

The harmony vocals are outstanding yet again on the dreamy, comforting A Thousand Miles Apart and James’s gentle, galloping, drumbeat and David’s discrete piano provide the perfect accompaniment to Nick’s economical, atmospheric electric guitar solos. 

It seems almost churlish, when discussing an album as consistently engaging as One Star Awake, to pick out highlights, but recent single Lost London Rivers has certainly established itself as a particular favourite.  It’s already a live-show staple and it’s well on its way to becoming a classic.  Nick’s whispered vocal is truly dramatic and the chugging guitar and drum backing creates the perfect ‘underworld’ atmosphere for the song.

With lyrics that reflect the seasonal, transient nature of fairground life, Gasoline And Wire is probably the folkiest of the tracks on One Star Awake.  Sentimental, without being sloppy, and both uplifting and wistful at the same time, it’s another great song and Nick and Michelle are, once again, on top vocal form.

A song in the classic ‘soft rock’ idiom, the appropriately-titled A Haunting features yet more amazing vocals.  Nick’s voice is genuinely eerie as he delivers the song’s macabre lyrics, and Michelle’s harmonies sound as though they originate from some way beyond the grave.  The effect is such that the contrasting country-rock flavour of Desire Line packs quite a jolt to the senses.  David’s pedal steel and Nick’s howling electric guitar mesh solidly together to create a sound that recalls New Riders of the Purple Sage.  The vocals are restrained but still manage to hold the listener in a fond, light embrace.

And, finally, the song that, more than any other, has enchanted me during Plumhall’s live performances.  That Further Shore is a gentle rock anthem that tells the charming story of how the losses felt by those watching a ship disappear over the horizon are balanced by the anticipation enjoyed by those on the far shore as they watch the same ship start to appear.  It’s an exquisite song to round off a truly exquisite album.

One Star Awake is an album not to be missed – under ANY circumstances and it can ordered here!

And look out for a Why I Love from Nick & Michelle coming up next week….

Watch the lyric video to One Star Awake – the album’s title track – here:

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