The return of Constant Follower is something to be celebrated. The music of the Scottish outfit is precisely rendered, with dashes of folk seasoning the heartfelt tunes that are this band's output. Following on from their superb 2021 album, Even Days Dissolve is offered up now.
Billed this time to Scott William Urquhart & Constant Follower, Stephen McAll and his associates have produced a sort of quiet masterpiece here. This is contemplative music, akin to early Damon & Naomi releases. I make that comparison because famed producer/musician Kramer, responsible for those early D&N records, is again the mixer here. The instruments share equal space with the warm vocals, and this whole album is something to positively sink into. Urquhart's picking anchors this, while McAll's vocals push things into intimate spaces.
The elegant arrangements here are centered around lyrics inspired by poet Norman McCaig, and his spoken words are the basis of two numbers here. Elsewhere, "Waves Crash Here" and "Watching the Black River Run" suggest a commonality with Bon Iver and musicians of that sort. I think Constant Follower have a unique sound that feels very much part of the place they come from, though there's a kind of Americana filtered through the Scottish folk. "Song for a Willow Tree" is gently lush, the guitar notes chiming with a Jansch-ian grace, as the faint keyboard-passages behind that give this a nice texture.
At their most compelling when they push against genre conventions, like on "Space Between Stars", Constant Follower manage to suggest an interesting mix of Seventies prog influences (though faint, admittedly), and an appreciation for amibent material. The title cut here has the aural poetry of the best Durutti Column, even if Urquhart and McAll are adding in flavors that owe more to early Fairport Convention, for example, than anything from Vini himself. It's the attitude here that puts this whole record in a special place, and which gives it a kind of perfection. The intentions of the players are apparent, and things are seriously pitched, though there's a lightness of touch too that renders this wildly accessible. The rare serious music that's not overly heavy, and which ends up being Art, Even Days Dissolve is very highly recommended.
Even Days Dissolve by Scott William Urquhart & Constant Follower is out now. Details below via Bandcamp.
[Photo: Jai O'Hare]