Short Reviews [Talitha Rise - 2014 - "Blue"]

I think what I have here is the third issue of this 6-track EP which was originally released in 2014 under the name Big Blue World, the duo with Jo Beth Young and Martyn Baker (Shriekback, Goldfrapp, Robert Plant). It was then reissued on CD in 2017 under the name Talitha Rise, their new band, with an additional song and different artwork, and now it is available digitally through Jo Beth’s Bandcamp pages it is back as a 6-track with another image. Actually, this image is by far the most fitting, as it ties in perfectly with what I think of for Talitha Rise, Rise or Jo Beth Young. She is easily one of the most exciting singers and performers I have come across for some time, and I only wish I were back in the UK so I could see her play. As it is, I have to be content with listening to songs which came out six years ago but could easily have been recorded just yesterday. I know Baker was a key part of her musical journey, and his acoustic guitar is an important part of the sound, as is Jo Beth’s piano, but is her vocals and the wonderful arrangements I have come to associate with her that make this album what it is. There are plenty of strings and layerings, but as always, I am drawn to that voice, that wonderful voice, as she sings to us about magpies, foxes, and brings the land to life. Acoustic, singer-songwriter, folky, progressive, it really does not matter at all what one wants to call the genre, as at the end of the day it is all about wonderful beautiful music.