What you say
No-one has reviewed Battle & Victory by Nancy Elizabeth yet.
What the label says:
*With an intuitive understanding of melody and dynamics, Nancy Elizabeth
brings a refreshingly Northern turn of phrase to her debut album, Battle
and Victory.
*The Lancashire-born singer's down-to-earth songs are brought to life by
her warm and unaffected voice. Unpretentious but effortlessly ambitious,
Nancy turns the retro, less-is-more aesthetic of the current acoustic
revival on its head. Not content with writing and singing all the songs
herself, the 23-year-old also plays most of the instruments, including
guitar, khim, Indian harmonium, Appalachian dulcimer and bouzouki, amongst
many others.
*Prominently featured is a 22-string Celtic harp, which she first picked up
a little over two years ago, after an inspirational chance meeting with a
harp player at a Liverpool gallery. Not long afterwards she received a
modest award from a music foundation, and within days had spent it all on
the perfect instrument, which has become a cornerstone of her performances.
*The album was recorded in a 17th Century white stone cottage in the remote
Welsh countryside, and a village hall outside Manchester, resulting in an
intimate, uncontrived gem of a record. Using a minimum of recording
equipment, the heartfelt honesty of her songs is revealed, extending to
grander, more complex arrangements when the occasion calls, and bringing
in friends to add cello, horns and percussion. While her work is never in
thrall to any particular artist or genre, Nancy's music calls to mind
aspects of artists as diverse as Nina Nastasia, The Incredible String
Band, Radiohead, Jacqui McShee, Mogwai, Talk Talk and Led Zeppelin.
*Immersed in music from an early age ("music has always seemed more natural
than talking," she says), Nancy has been writing songs since she was 14,
and has performed live for six years. In the last twelve months she has
appeared at the Green Man Festival (where she will appear again this
August) and played alongside A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Tunng and James
Yorkston among others. She is currently putting together a small touring
group to augment her already much-loved acoustic 'one-girl-band' shows
which feature primarily acoustic guitar and her beloved harp.
*Nancy's debut EP, The Wheel Turning King, was released in 2006 by
Manchester's Timbreland Recordings, under her full name, Nancy Elizabeth
Cunliffe (she recently dropped her family name, on the grounds that "no
one beyond a two mile radius of Wigan can pronounce 'Cunliffe' properly").
*Tracklist:
CD: LP: 1. A1. I'm Like The Paper 2. A2. I Used To Try 3. A3. Off
With Your Axe 4. A4. The Remote Past 5. A5. Coriander 6. A6. 8 Brown
Legs 7. A7. Electric 8. B1. Hey Son 9. B2. Weakened Bow 10. B3.
What Is Human 11. B4. Lung 12. B5. How Can I Stop? 13. B6. Battle
and Victory |
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