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Gig Review: Murmurations 

Norwich Puppet Theatre: 16^th May 2024

Bumping into some well-known musical folk outside Voodoo Daddy’s on my way home after this gig, I was asked my opinion of Murmurations’ performance at Norwich Puppet Theatre.

 

“I can see them one day, playing a sold-out concert at the South Bank Centre.  They are quite different and they are that good!” was my gut response.

Murmurations, Norwich Puppet Theatre 16th May 2024. Photographer TBA

I had just heard a most a beautiful set of original compositions and was still held in the moment.  This morning, in the cold light of day, I hold firm on that opinion, although I acknowledge the journey from Norwich Puppet Theatre next the Wensum, to the Royal Festival Hall by the Thames is a bit of a leap. However, for this group, it is not a bridge too far to imagine.

 

Everyone in the audience was enthralled. Sober supporters of live music will understand what I mean when I say, my sense of time was subsumed by what I was hearing.  The thirty-minute performance was over without any suggestion of the minute hand moving, let alone the half-hour passing. 

 

Performing songs in harmony that moved easily around the pastoral bounds of the folk parish, Murmurations delivered a delightful shape-shifting tapestry, woven from harmonium, mandolin, flute, Irish bouzouki, cello and sympathetic drums.

Abi Harold. Photo: Ga Chun Yau

The set opened with ‘Window' during which Abi Harold manipulated eerie tones from the harmonium, while leading the vocal line in a short, bitter-sweet song that begins, 

 

And I come to you through a broken window

And I am going soon the way that I came

And I’m so sorry that I broke your window…

 

My goodness!  Talk about hanging on every word.  The song may have just made two minutes, little more, yet it held the audience in rapt attention.  The sustained notes of the harmonium and the plaintive tones of Harald, accompanied by Eva Wright, chilled the air.  When Window ended with the regretful line, I still see us in the glass.  The applause that followed was a collective breathing out.  Chilling.  Brilliant.

 

The harmonium was shifted toward the back of the stage before Zuluaga Correa / Sara the drummer, was introduced.  Norfolk is blessed with some very, very good drummers and I would place Sara near the very top of this county’s league of percussionists on last night’s showing alone.

Sara. Photo: Ga Chun Yau

When I described Sara as a percussionist, Abi was quick to emphasise to me that Sara plays drums, which she does, but she plays them with an orchestral percussionist’s ear.  Sympathetic to the tone and tempo of the music, carefully choosing her weapons, (wool-felt mallet, brush, wooden stick, kick-pedal), Sara brings another subtle layer of musicality to Murmurations.  I have not heard the group before they were complemented by her drumming, but when you see and hear how Sara’s concentration and delicacy of touch is delivered, it brings a richness to the sound.  

To give you an idea of the depth Sara’s drums bring to the act, think of how a heartbeat is always with us, not always obviously, but always unobtrusively and reassuringly present.

Why am I talking about drumming so early into my review?  Well, I think it is important because it underlines how every element of this talented group blends together.  Murmurations formed last October and have only been working in a studio for the last month, which is a remarkably short time for such an accomplished performance to be prepared. I think the only possible element that needs attention is the inter-song patter with the audience.  A mix of spontaneous and self-consciousness diluted the sense of any address to the audience, but that's a minor aside on my part.

The tone of the set shifted dramatically when Lucy May’s keen mandolin brought a dramatic edge to Double Vision, aka Moat, which is about medieval peasants storming a castle.

Lucy May. Photo: Ga Chun Yau

I am glad other people look at the Normandy stone edifice that once dominated Norwich and see it as the oppressive, military structure it was built to be.  We should recall that every hastily constructed motte and bailey castle in the land is a monument to Norman suppression, as much as the overgrown, Channel-facing concrete bunkers of Omaha Beach are reminders of the more recent Nazi occupation of France.

Ideals of freedom, resistance, commoners’ camaraderie reverberate through the song, Double Vision.  When the Murmurations album is released, a lyric booklet is going to be a must.  There is not a word wasted in their song writing and I feel that these compositions will easily hold their own poetically in print.

 

Standing left of centre, Lucy May’s mandolin playing is magical.  How she is able to generate such clear and complex notes with barely a movement of her hand is a mystery to me.  The balance and interplay between her playing and Harald’s rhythmic work on the Irish bouzouki is perpetually engaging.  There is a lot going on within Murmurations in what, superficially, looks like a very simple set up.

 

Which brings me to the flute of Anna Wyeth and cello of Eva Wright.  Positioned stage left and stage right, these two play vital parts in the overall sound.  The two balance each other so well.  The top notes of the flute cover one end of the aural range, the cello’s deep tones the other. This is clearly not a band that has been thrown together for larks.  Each element has been carefully thought through, (as with the drums), with a sensitivity to the overall impact.  It is a wonderfully well-rounded sound.

 

Eva Wright’s part in all this is something else too.  Echoing melodies, emphasising key points and providing wonderfully diverting solo elements, Wright's cello is wholly satisfying.  All this and her significant sung contributions.  Wright was to go on to play a full part with her singing and cello in Eliza Delf's main act after the second interval.  A tremendous night’s work from her. 

 

Like many a music-loving English soul, the sound of acoustic instruments and harmonious voices singing of nature, rebellion, magic and love, often all in one song, provokes the response, I don’t mind a bit of folk music.  Like heavy rock, or any genre, it is easy to let familiar sounds wash over you before putting it to one side for being all the same.  Murmurations are both familiar and refreshing.  I cannot over-state how much I enjoyed their set last night.  Do make the effort to hear them yourself live.  Seeing the care that these women put into their music, I cannot wait to hear their recorded work too. I can only hope there will be vinyl available, (and a lyric sheet).

Murmurations were the musicians I came to see in this four act show at The Norwich Puppet Theatre.  The others were Eliza Delf & The Wilderness, Maple Ward and Jim Holland, all worth tracking down for a second viewing. It was a Wayfarers production and thank you to them for putting on such a great evening.

Murmurations forthcoming shows:

 

Saturday 25^th May 2024 (evening) The Bandstand, Chapelfield Garden, Norwich.  This is a free gig as part of the Norwich & Norfolk Festival.

 

Saturday 16^th June 2024 Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom, Norwich.

The band are opening for Ruá, with the amazing Afra also on the bill. Book here

 

26^th July 2024 Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom, Norwich.

Murmurations are headlining this gig.  Book early!

~

Spencer Ide

17th May 2024