The Imagined Village - Empire & Love
A trip to a village like this is a welcome change of pace.
If you have any foreknowledge of this folk ensemble, you could be forgiven for thinking that their second album would deliver the same tricks as the first. With a revision in the line-up, The Imagined Village are back with a smoother, stronger and altogether more coherent sound on 'Empire & Love'.
Free from the weight of their own ambition, this sophomore effort shines as a loving dedication to folk music, in stark contrast to the uneven and slightly indulgent sounds of their eponymous debut. However, their love of incongruent styles is their strength as they take a better handle on their own enthusiasm and settle into their rhythm. The tracks are imbued with a haunting quality and the underlying sadness that comes with growing older. And the choices are certainly bold here. Covering a Slade track could quite easily be the recipe for a musical abomination, but you have to admire their bravery. Their reimagining of 'Cum On Feel The Noize' will floor most people who are lucky enough to hear it. In slowing the tempo and rearranging the song entirely, it becomes a strangely hypnotic beast; the hoarse, weary vocals sing it as a ballad across time, to a long-passed age of rebellion and freedom, and its mournful poignancy transforms the song from bland cover into an unforgettable interpretation.
Eliza Carthy’s performance on ‘Space Girl’ lightens the tone of the album greatly and keeps it from becoming too dour and serious. The bohemian, Indian sounds complement her raspy timbre and the lyrics are playfully fun, telling the story of a girl’s adventures among the stars. For the album’s successes, though, there are missteps, to be sure. 'Rosebuds In June/Mrs Preston’s Hornpipe' is a particularly deep trough in the trippy landscape, and the reprise of 'Scarborough Fair' seems like unnecessary padding. But in a time where reality stars still saturate the market with homogenised music, a trip to a village like this is a welcome change of pace.
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