Cadence Noir – Physical Copy
Self-Released
Release Date: 22/12/18
Running Time: 33:09
Review By Beth Jones
6/10
After 8 years of fannying about, Cadence Noir, my favourite Gothic Folk’n’Rollers (yes, it is a genre, shut yer face) have finally released their debut album. It dropped just in time for the Christmas panic buyers to slip it into a loved one’s stocking (shrewd move chaps, shrewd move!) I almost fell off my chair when they announced the news that it was actually happening, so eagerly awaited its arrival, and am now finally getting round to writing my thoughts on it a month after the event!
It is instantly recognisable as Cadence Noir. It is the sound that The Levellers would make if they had been playing all-night drinking games and jamming blues with Jim Morrison, Lemmy and Ozzy! Its raucous, its loud, its heavy, its bouncy and its blues folk jazzy! They are a proper party band, with an unmistakably unique sound, and that has transferred well onto the album. Ade’s scratchy vocals juxtaposed with Emma’s soaring, pure violin, and backed up by solid rhythms and crunchy guitars, with more than a smattering of Celtic influence, makes for a really interesting mix.
The album is a fine selection of ditties, with their classic, and one of my favourites, ‘The Traveller’ kicking off proceedings. It is an upbeat foot tapper which is sure to get things swinging, so it is a great way to start an album. The majority of the album moves at a frenetic pace and keeps your attention, however one song, which is 80% ballad, sticks out for me; ‘A Truth Held Dear’. It has a deep melancholy about it that I really like.
In the band’s press release, they say:
“Is it polished? No. Is it the height of pro audio production? God no. Does it sound like Cadence Noir? Yes it does.”
I have to concur, especially on the production side. The mix is a little top-heavy for me and this lets it down – I’m a bass girl and like to hear a meaty bottom end full of boom! Admittedly that isn’t really what Cadence Noir are about, and they did record their parts in separate home studios, so I will give them a bit of leeway, but I think the top end could do with coming down just a touch! However, I do quite like the rawness of it in a musical sense – if it had been too polished, it wouldn’t have been right.
All in all, this is a pretty fine debut album – let’s not leave it another 8 years for the follow up eh, guys?!
I have based this review on the download version sent over by the band but we shall definitely be buying the CD because…if you purchase the physical copy of “Physical Copy” (It’s an awesome title for an album) you not only get an extra track in the shape of live favourite #FFBB (Fuck Fuck Boom Boom), you also get a DVD of Cadence Noir’s full set from Bloodstock 2018 plus some other DVD extras! Value for money indeed!
TRACKLISTING:
01. The Traveller
02. Remoaner
03. Demon’s Lament
04. Church
05. Voyages
06. A Truth Held Dear
07. Homage
08. Hold Me Down
09. A Dove Amongst Eagles
10. #FFBB (CD Bonus Track)
LINE-UP:
Adrien Perrie – Guitar/Vox
Emma Bennett – Violin
Tom Smith – Bass/Double Bass
David Budge – Drums/Percussion
Nick Chamberlain – Guitars
Martin Jackson – Guitar/Vox (Hold Me Down)
LINKS:
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