The Bard of Ely is of course Steve Andrews, a Welsh singer-songwriter, writer and journalist with a strong interest in botany and conservation. Anyone who follows his very interesting Facebook page will see plenty of posts on his beloved butterflies, his feelings on the current protests on extinction, as well as plenty of images of his wonderfully bright green beard! Steve has been releasing albums for 30 years, and this one is a collection of old songs in fresh arrangements and new songs too, which is where the album’s title comes from. Although available through Bandcamp, this has also been released as a physical copy, and in keeping with his views on the environment, it comes in a recycled egg box cardboard Digipak 4 panel case with an 8-page booklet while the discs trays are made from recycled egg boxes and have a central cork stud to mount the disc while the four page printed outer is also made from 100% recycled card stock with a slightly rougher texture than the standard digipaks.
Mostly this is just Steve with his acoustic, although he is joined by two other singers to provide backing vocals on a few of the numbers. Musically he comes across as a mix between Neil Young and Roy Harper, and while some of the songs are light-hearted (“Butterfly In My Beard”), plenty of them have a very strong message aligned to his beliefs. “Where Does All The Plastic Go” is incredibly relevant, and when he describes the ocean as a plastic stew it really does make the listener stop and think. This is protest music from the Sixties brought up to date with modern topics, and there is a lo-fi feeling to proceedings which is totally in keeping with the way he is bringing his message across. The lack of a rhythm section allows the guitars to really shine, providing a vibrant backing for his vocals, and the result is an alternative singer songwriter album which I found quite compelling. “Girl Singer” has a naïve beauty all of its own, while “Living Book” is a driving number which is quite poppy.
Ten songs, which in many ways take me back into the Sixties and Seventies with protest numbers which are highly influenced by the likes of Billy Bragg, this is an album which has definitely grown on me.
Rating: 7/10
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Track list:
1. Harvest Home
2. The Nightingale
3. Butterfly In My Beard
4. Usually
5. Reality Song
6. Where Does All The Plastic Go?
7. Girl Singer
8. Citizen Of Earth
9. Ever Yours
10. Living Book
