Dead & Born & Grown

From 2012 and on Atlantic and that’s really weird because Atlantic is not a label I think anyone would associate with acoustic folksy stuff from a trio of English sisters! In fact the only odder mismatch I can think of is when the English folkie, Steve Ashley, had his debut album in the seventies issued by Motown in the USA.

Anyhow, this is the full-length debut from The Staves (who are  Camilla, Jessica and Emily Staveley-Taylor). Now if you are from the UK, those three first names, combined with a double-barrelled surname do rather suggest a certain type of home-counties upbringing and the music is, to be honest, what you might imagine. That’s shameful stereotyping on my part I know, but maybe not inaccurate.  Apparently the Staves are from Watford (a town which, granted, is not usually seen as part of the ‘Gin’n’Jag’ belt but is  hardly evocative of  mean streets, inner-city grit either).

So to the music, which is produced, immaculately by Glyn Johns (producer/engineer to Rock Royalty). There are twelve tracks, each of which is pleasant enough – nice harmonies, gentle lyrics and plenty of acoustic guitar. After a few listens though, I found that there weren’t really any tracks which were standing out and demanding to be re-played repeatedly. The two which came closest were the opener (‘Wisely and Slow’) and the closer (‘Eagle Song’) but I still can’t work out if that’s simply because of their positioning. And the downside of that is that, while I find this CD good background music, it doesn’t demand that I should listen to it – there’s simply not enough range in the music or the lyrics.