“Bold and audacious in ways you wouldn’t expect, Bróna McVittie‘s The Woman in the Moon is probably her most progressive folk album to date. Bróna performs on harp and guitar, as well as synthesiser and electronics. She is joined by a number of talented guest musicians, including bassist Oli Hayhurst (Pharoah Sanders), Brazilian drummer Marius Rodrigues, Hutch Demouilpied on trumpet, Richard Curran on strings and Myles Cochran on steel guitars. There are so many unexpected and transcendent moments that, alongside her absolutely gorgeous voice, give this album an attractive progressive feel, inviting you to listen deeper on each return.
While the traditional arrangement of the Irish ballad ‘Star of the County Down‘ that opens the album offers some familiarity, the opening bass notes and the simple keyboard that underpins the song blur those edges.
Pushing at every turn, McVittie tackles a number of life’s issues, and she does it in ways that haunt your consciousness. ‘Living Without You‘ serves as an example of how unsettling a life suddenly spent alone can be, with Marius Rodrigues’ drumming adding to the spacious yet complicated nature of the work, underscoring the complex sense of life.
There’s also plenty of intrigue in the music. ‘The Woman in the Moon‘ has odd bits that bubble up out of the mix, much like the notions we have of space. Throughout the album, there’s a sense of sparseness. The double bass of Oli Hayhurst is a case in point; it adds to the track significantly, yet there is never a sense that too many elements have been added to the mix. No element is overindulged, and the resulting spaciousness brings a focus to McVittie’s voice.
‘Your Heart Wants to Go‘ is a lovely, lilting song. The spare setting allows listeners to hear the points where double-tracked vocals lead the song into different places. The effect is remarkable, creating something that sounds both traditional and experimental simultaneously.
The strains of Richard Curran’s strings offer a fitting counterpoint to McVittie’s voice on ‘In the Winter‘. Simple percussion and a heavy bassline skitter in the mix. There’s a warm commonality to the melody that creates a sense of comfort, although there is also a sense of wintry coldness to the edges of the song.
‘Phantasmagoria‘ floats in on a wave of birds singing their songs. Adding elements of harp and guitar to the proceedings, creating a track that blends the natural world with elements like the trumpet of Hutch Demouilpied in a way that helps to unify the music of the album as a whole.
“What Bróna McVittie has achieved on The Woman in the Moon is quite remarkable. She has found a way to focus the broad musical sound worlds that have inspired her, to reach listeners in new and unexpected ways.”
Bob Fish, Folk Radio UK
Read the review on Folk Radio UK