A squeezebox-and -fiddletastic Christmas (plus) to soothe any a jaundiced ear. And all of those in the know.

Release Date: Available now

Label: Needle Pin Records

Format: CD / digital

two artists at their peak

You want cutting edge? With bells, whistles, beats, programming, all of that, increasingly all part the domain of folk music, trad or otherwise, well, let me break it gently to you, you won’t find owt of that here. Human voice, untampered with, along with fiddle, squeezebox and recorders is all that is offered here, a smidgeon of occasional percussion to guide the way from time to time. (And bells, if you must, yes, on one track).

Simple and straightforward, two artists at the peak of their unadulterated skills, and all the better for that. Neither, too, are these the songs of desperation and cliche, trotted out by supermarket shelf favourites. Like fellow acolytes of the tradition, The Unthanks and the estimable Janice Burns and Jon Doran, they have dug deep, finding songs that may have dropped, over the centuries, from any Christingle playlist. So then, tradition in a far purer sense than shortbread and Santa.

finding the time…

Oates and Spiers ought need little introduction, one of the many configurations that Squeezy John somehow finds time to be part of, betweeen, deep breath, Spiers and Boden, Bellowhead (just off a whirlwind of a tour), Gigspanner Big Band and, probably, a fair few more. Jackie Oates has a similarly inclusive approach to her c.v., encompassing solo work, working also with The Imagined Village, Megan Henwood, C.Beebies(!) and the many outposts of Lush Fresh Handmade Sound, that unlikely purveyor of multi-faceted folk fusions.

This is their second joint release, and stems from, like many releases only now seeing the light of day, lockdown. Not as in a set from that time, but the duo performed a batch of on-line seasonal “living room concerts” during December of 2020. This is where the majority of these songs were first given an airing. With the viral risk reduced, the duo have since taken the idea on the road, and this year is no exception: this is where they will be as you read this review, with now also the option of purchasing a hard copy memento.

And lo!

He Comes With Clouds Descending has the “he” entering in a graceful flurry of fiddle and melodeon. And, were it not for the charmingly naïf vocal of Oates, possibly double tracked in places, more likely Spiers harmonising, this would suit a fully fledged R3 choir of trebles. Don’t get me wrong, I’d opt for this version every time, Oates’ style of singing being perfect for my ears and needs. I don’t know the tune but it deserves to become a staple, even for someone who avoids such things. The duo play it like abashed locals, drawn from a local village to perform for the King, sometime a century or so ago. The arrangement finishes with a welcome burst of La Mourisque, the tune with which Headington Quarry Morris morris off to.

essential wassailing

A wassail is essential in this sort of project, preventing any trusty musket from getting rusty. The Gloucestershire Wassail comes in waltztime, an instrumental stanza or two before the familiar lyric unfolds, if to a different tune from Morris On, if I recall correctly. If nothing else, it reminds the slightly similar timbre has Oates, as compared to the younger Shirley Collins. And, if we’re toting comparisons, doesn’t she then sound like an Unthank, up next, for As I Lay On Yoolis Night, a medieval carol unearthed by John Spiers. The elegant melody is gilded with additional recorder, from Oates, ties and garters then loosed for the Breton mazurka which sees the song off, along with choral duh-duh-duhs. Bass recorder, who knew, comes from Spiers, as does the concertina.

For someone who traditionally cries humbug at Christmas, I am finding this all rather endearing, not for the first time thinking anything squeezeboxy may be my favourite sound.

And morris-y (not that one)…

If Twelve Joys Of Mary sounds also morris-y, you’d not be wrong, it part of, again, Headington Quarry’s seasonal mummers play, and the dance that is part of it. This instrumental version segues into the Sussex Carol, aka Saturday Night, another tune from the Cotswolds morris traditions. Combined stompbox and drum, Spiers and Oates respectively, give a touch of the full Mattacks. (Ed: actually Michael Gregory!) I sang O Come O Come Emmanuel in my school choir, many an aeon ago, but never with as much of the gaunt and chilly hauteur provided here. Concertina, melodeon and fiddle eke more pathos than that creaky chapel organ ever could, and Oates is piercingly sincere. To say Oates’ fiddle sounds glorious seems trite, here at least needing the full courtesy of outing it as a five string viola. (Experts will have already worked that one out).

a visit to the playground…

Welcome Noble Winter smacks immediately of the playground, which is no surprise, the liner notes explain, as it is a nursery rhyme. Fittingly, the duo tackle it in near unison, once Oates has introduced each line, and it bounces along with a very maritime feel, abetted by very Portsmouth sounding recorder. Blending seamlessly into Harvey Darvey, another such rhyme, this second tune is wordless, losing the likely doggerel the name suggests. The slow schottische that follows, The Halsway Carol, is a Nigel Eaton hurdy gurdy tune, with a lyric supplied by a further hurdy-gurdier, Ian Frisk. With a naggingly familiar melody I cannot quite place, something Fairporty, maybe someone can prompt me, but regardless, it is cracking tune, performed exquisitely. With a similar cadence, The Broomsquire’s Bird Song sways equivalently along, if with little overt festive feel, but a suitable digestif for this stage in the celebrations.

back in the zone

That pause for thoughtful reflection should put you right back in the zone, good and ready for a further spot of wassailing, so what better time to give a reveal, possibly news to no-one but me. For God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, well, drop it up a minor, and it becomes Somerset Wassail. With a slow processional flavour to it, this instrumental combination parades the one ahead the other, with then some vocals from, first, Spiers, then both, to drive home the point, to those with the sufficient ear to discern that nuance. (Me? Not saying.) If you like jigsaws and the putting of tunes together, you wil love this.

Bergers Ecoutez La Musique goes all Gallic on us, with Oates doing her best Francoise Hardy. A Breton carol, if in French, it still retains all the character of the selection so far, before making a galopede down into a 3/8 bourée, Bourée No.1, by Steve Turner, which feels appropriately post prandially boozy of foot. And, before returning back to Blighty, we are now graced by a couple of Icelandic compositions, Sofðu Unga Ástin Mín and Sjóferðabæn. Having commanded the track before, Oates is still up for the linguistic challenge, but it is her fiddle that is the prevailing tone, in a plangent air that, via some squeeze, becomes a maudlin prayer to surviving the sea. Think For Those In Peril, and it has a similar sense of hopeless hopefulness.

almost home

Nearly home, Wales provides the penultimate pairing, a Welsh carol, Y Ceiliog Llwyd, together with a livelier version of Drive The Cold Winter Away than I am used to, but one that is really rather jolly. I always think it brave to tinker with expectations raised by that title, and the myriad majesty of versions abundant (and my favourite Christmas related tune, to boot, if in a fairly short list). But it is so perky as to leave my brow quite the opposite of unfurrowed. Finally, Oates nightingales us out with The Trees Are All Bare, to sparse melodeon, and some of her own sinuous fiddle. The Collins comparison is again there for the taking, perhaps unsurprising for a song sung by her, if in her later and matured voice, back in 2020. Oates lets you in on how Collins may have sung it forty years back. Or rather, and more importantly, how she, herself, tackles it now.

lots of bang for your baubles

At close to an hour and 13 songs, you get a lot of bangs for your baubles, and, if so inclined, it would probably last the length of a full turkey dinner, trimmings included. Or maybe just playing as gentle lead in to Christmas, as you try and avoid the pizazz. Nothing to frighten the family and nowt to be afear’d of, it is actually a midwinter night that can sweeten the sour of even the most ardent scrooge.

Lummy, I’ve come over all Comfort And Joy!

And here’s the tour:

Jackie Oates online: Website / Facebook / X (formerly Twitter / Instagram / Bluesky

John Spiers online: Website / Facebook / X (formerly Twitter) / Instagram / Bluesky

Oates & Spiers: Bandcamp

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