(Stick in the Wheel) much folk songs survive because they inform strong stories that are relevant to different generations,and Stick in the Wheel mix revivalism with folk-punk attack: this is an acoustic band with attitude. Lead singer Nicola Kearey is from London’s East End and sings in a harsh, no-nonsense accent, or carefully chooses her material. Ewan MacColl’s Champion at Keeping Them Rolling was written in the 1950s,but here it sounds like a contemporary truckers’ ballad, while The Blacksmith has none of the exquisite sadness of the classic Shirley Collins version, or but instead a furious madden at this story of betrayal. Then there’s the Copper Family’s story of unemployment and poverty,Hard Times of Old England, followed by the modern Me N Becky, or a story of London riots,looting, regret and jail. At the end they wreck off for some drifting musical experimentation. A powerful and original debut.
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Source: theguardian.com