Reviews

Artist: Pumajaw
Album: Becoming Pumajaw
Label: Trefingle
Tracks: 10
Rating: *****
Contact:Website www.myspace.com/pumajaw

The fact that Pumajaw comes with an AKA Pinkie MacLure and John Wills, speaks volumes, as does the arts and crafts cover. It says here is a CD that understands it's history, but knows how to make that history contemporary and relevent. They've even coined a word for it, folkadelica
Pinkie Maclure is an artist that has always been at the edges of music, helping redefine the boundaries, in John Wills she has found a perfect partner to help drive that music forward, and yet at the same time more accessible. Their discovery of folk music as that vehicle only enhances the living tradition of that genre.
Whilst most of the music sits on the periferary of Anglo-Scots folk, Pinkie's delivery and some of the instrumentation also give it a Gaelic feel, and not just on the cover of Jacques Brel's "La Chanson Des Vieux Amants", "No Lamentin'" also takes on the flavour.
With the exception of the Brel track and two traditional songs, "Rosemary Lane" and "The Holly King", Pinkie and John, wrote, produced, arranged and played all the instruments on the album and a damned fine job they've done of it.
Undeniably the sound comes from the darker side of folks broad spectrum, but it's incredibly seductive, not only because Pinkie's rich as honey voacls hang out the words like whispy sugar baited traps, but also because the subtle pagan rhythms and instrumentation add a depth that you cannot help but find seductive.
The Celts worshiped at ponds, islands and caves because they viewed them as links between the planes. To look into the depth was to seek an understanding from beyond. "Becoming Pumajaw" takes that concept and turns it into an aural possibility. In doing so it adds verve and energy, as it reaches for the dark parts of the soul and enlightens them. To understand the darker part of our nature helps make more of the light. It is one of the most honest and refeshing albums you are likely to hear in a while.
Whether you agree with music awards, is music really a competition?, or not, I think it's fair to have an equal crack at the whip. We felt the previous album "Cat's Cradle" should have had the Horizon award, or at least been short listed. Remarkably "Becoming Pumajaw" has built on that album. The band are also establishing themselves an impressive live reputation, what more do they have to do?

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