Album Review: Lizzy Hoyt | Home :｡･:*:･ﾟ'✿
I came across Lizzy Hoyt's music a month or two ago, and I've found that I really like it. Most of the Canadian celtic-folk music I'm familiar with is from the east coast, so it's really nice to find such a great artist from my home province of Alberta.
It's pretty typical for me to buy an album after hearing only one or two songs. It means the result is a surprise! After giving a listen to Home (2010), I like it a lot; the only song on that album that I was familiar with was "Vimy Ridge", as well as a couple that I am familiar with from other artists ("Devil in the Kitchen" and "Jolene"). On the first listen, I really enjoyed it a lot - so the surprise was worth it. ;) I also have New Lady on the Prairie (2014), but haven't listened to that album yet; might do a review of that after I've listened to it, but we'll see. For the record, the easiest way to get her music is to buy it on itunes, or buy the CD directly from her website. Amazon doesn't carry her CDs, which doesn't surprise me, because even though she's won awards and so on, she's still a pretty small-name Canadian artist.
Overall Impressions: I like this album a lot. If I had to pick favourites, it would probably be "Song for the Mira", "Home", and "Star of the County Down", while "St. Anne's Reel" probably takes the top for the instrumentals. It's definitely worth giving a listen to this album if you're interested in Canadian celtic-folk music.
After hearing "Vimy Ridge", I was expecting that many of the songs on this album would be slow-toned and mournful. Not so! Home has a lot of upbeat songs on it, both instrumental and otherwise. Of the fourteen tracks, only five are slow songs, and one of them is an instrumental.
I've given some thoughts here on all of the songs. I wish that I could link to them so that you all could get a better idea of what I'm talking about, but most of Hoyt's music isn't up on youtube, though there are previews on itunes if anyone's curious. It was a little bit more difficult to give commentary for the instrumentals than for the vocal songs; since I don't know anything about skill and have no ear for whether music is played well or not, the ways I can comment on instrumental-only tracks is limited.
01. Traditional Jigs
The title here is self-explanatory. It's a mix of various traditional fiddle songs - "Merrily Kiss the Quaker's Wife", "Rakes of Kildare", "Slieve Russell" and "Kesh Jig" according to the CD sleeve. It's a sweet, swinging, lighthearted way to open the album, and I really like it.
02. Star of the County Down [Live version on youtube here]
If you like a bit of femslash in your folk music, Hoyt delivers. "Star of the County Down" is a traditional Irish ballad about the speaker becoming infatuated with a young woman, and Hoyt's version doesn't change pronouns and names. As for the song itself, it's a light, bouncing, quick rendition of it; a pleasure to listen to.
03. St. Anne's Reel
Another bouncing instrumental jig; booklet indicates this is a combination of the traditional songs "The Sally Gardens", "St. Anne's Reel", and "Jenny Dang the Weaver". I really love the whistlework in this track.
04. Together Forever
This is the first slow song on the album, and rather than the traditional songs that come before it, the lyrics and music on this one are both by Hoyt. This song reminds me more of country and western music than the Canadian-celtic that most of the rest of the album features - but to be specific, it's reminiscent of an older tone ('90s or earlier), rather than modern country. ... In other words, it recalls an era of that genre which I actually like. So, even though it's a departure from the rest of the album in terms of style, I certainly don't mind it. The sad, longing lyrics about lost love, as well as the combination of slow guitar and fiddle are mainly what bring that genre to mind for me.
05. Chickadee's Delight
Another bouncy mixture of three instrumental songs: First "Chickadee's Delight", which is Hoyt's; then two traditional jigs, "Sleeping Maggie" and "Musical Priest". This one is slightly different from the rest of the instrumentals on the album in that it incorporates a lot of lovely harp.
06. Picture on my Heart
Another song in which the lyrics and music are both Hoyt's, rather than traditional. There's something about this song that reminds me of older music by The Rankin Family. As far as I'm concerned, that's not a bad thing, because I love The Rankin Family. But, it's possible that it only reminds me of that because of stylistic convention.
07. Vimy Ridge [Song/Video]
This song was the first I ever heard by Hoyt, and I think it gave me slightly skewed impressions of what her music was like. Stylistically, it reminds me a lot of Loreena McKennitt's music, in terms of vocals + musical backing. But the rest of the album isn't like McKennitt at all; Hoyt really does her own thing, and the only similarity there is that they're both female Canadian musicians working in roughly the same genre - though Hoyt leans more traditional, and McKennitt more new age.
The song is a story of the lives lost during the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, drawing on the Commonwealth tradition of slow, mournful war songs. Culturally, this particular battle is pretty important for Canadians; it's one of those moments in Canadian history that is guaranteed to come up in school and so on. I'm surprised there aren't more songs about it. Anyway, I'm rather fond of this song, even if it isn't representative of the rest of the album.
08. Song for the Mira
This is a traditional Canadian maritime folksong; the Mira River referred to here is located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It's one of the slower songs on the album, but it's lighthearted, sweet, and cozy. Absolutely lovely. Something about the tone reminds me of Christmas, or at least Winter, even though it isn't a song for that season. Probably it's just due to the comforting sound of the whole thing. Oddly enough, the instrumental section toward the end sounds very similar to "Zelda's Lullaby" from the Legend of Zelda games - it doesn't match the tune exactly (one or two notes are different), but it's certainly close enough to make both my eyebrows raise. But I doubt it was intentional.
09. Devil in the Kitchen
I'm mainly familiar with Ashley MacIsaac's version of this song (which is on youtube here), but his version and Hoyt's are very different. MacIsaac tends toward experimental fiddle music, and his version of "Devil in the Kitchen" is so sharp and rough that I feel comfortable calling it a metal take on that tune. Hoyt's version is slower, sweeter, less intense; you jig to it, you don't mosh to it. More of a traditional take on the song, I think. Even though I love MacIsaac's version, I can see myself listening to Hoyt's take on it more frequently.
10. Jolene
Hoyt's take on the song that is better known for Dolly Parton's version. I think that overall, I prefer Parton's version of the song. Hoyt's version sounds really nice, and I love the way harp and bodhran are incorporated into the instrumentals, but the vocals sound too sweet and pretty for my taste; they don't give the song the same desperate edge that I associate with Parton's version.
11. B set
Another instrumental mix, made up of Hoyt's "The Hollyhocks", the traditional "Highlander's Hornpipe", and Hoyt's "Marla's Return from Saskatchewan". It's light and upbeat, which is a nice contrast to the slower, darker-sounding "Jolene" before it.
12. Home
This is the title track for the album, and it's a song about Alberta. It's slow, quiet, thoughtful, and goddamn does it ever make me homesick for Drumheller. Even if it weren't lovely - and it is indeed pretty - I would love it purely for that reason. But I'm always a sucker for songs that mention places that I know or, even better, have lived in.
13. Suzy's Reel
A mixture of three: Hoyt's "Suzy's Reel", and the traditional "The Unfortunate Rake" and "Haste to the Wedding". Sweet, upbeat and light, it takes up the same tone of the other bouncing instrumentals in the album.
14. Ashokan Farewell
This is a slow-toned, lament-like song composed by Jay Unger, and many people have covered it. No surprise there - it's so lovely and sad. Hoyt's version makes use of fiddle and piano, and I think the combination works really well.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3419080.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.
It's pretty typical for me to buy an album after hearing only one or two songs. It means the result is a surprise! After giving a listen to Home (2010), I like it a lot; the only song on that album that I was familiar with was "Vimy Ridge", as well as a couple that I am familiar with from other artists ("Devil in the Kitchen" and "Jolene"). On the first listen, I really enjoyed it a lot - so the surprise was worth it. ;) I also have New Lady on the Prairie (2014), but haven't listened to that album yet; might do a review of that after I've listened to it, but we'll see. For the record, the easiest way to get her music is to buy it on itunes, or buy the CD directly from her website. Amazon doesn't carry her CDs, which doesn't surprise me, because even though she's won awards and so on, she's still a pretty small-name Canadian artist.
Overall Impressions: I like this album a lot. If I had to pick favourites, it would probably be "Song for the Mira", "Home", and "Star of the County Down", while "St. Anne's Reel" probably takes the top for the instrumentals. It's definitely worth giving a listen to this album if you're interested in Canadian celtic-folk music.
After hearing "Vimy Ridge", I was expecting that many of the songs on this album would be slow-toned and mournful. Not so! Home has a lot of upbeat songs on it, both instrumental and otherwise. Of the fourteen tracks, only five are slow songs, and one of them is an instrumental.
I've given some thoughts here on all of the songs. I wish that I could link to them so that you all could get a better idea of what I'm talking about, but most of Hoyt's music isn't up on youtube, though there are previews on itunes if anyone's curious. It was a little bit more difficult to give commentary for the instrumentals than for the vocal songs; since I don't know anything about skill and have no ear for whether music is played well or not, the ways I can comment on instrumental-only tracks is limited.
01. Traditional Jigs
The title here is self-explanatory. It's a mix of various traditional fiddle songs - "Merrily Kiss the Quaker's Wife", "Rakes of Kildare", "Slieve Russell" and "Kesh Jig" according to the CD sleeve. It's a sweet, swinging, lighthearted way to open the album, and I really like it.
02. Star of the County Down [Live version on youtube here]
If you like a bit of femslash in your folk music, Hoyt delivers. "Star of the County Down" is a traditional Irish ballad about the speaker becoming infatuated with a young woman, and Hoyt's version doesn't change pronouns and names. As for the song itself, it's a light, bouncing, quick rendition of it; a pleasure to listen to.
03. St. Anne's Reel
Another bouncing instrumental jig; booklet indicates this is a combination of the traditional songs "The Sally Gardens", "St. Anne's Reel", and "Jenny Dang the Weaver". I really love the whistlework in this track.
04. Together Forever
This is the first slow song on the album, and rather than the traditional songs that come before it, the lyrics and music on this one are both by Hoyt. This song reminds me more of country and western music than the Canadian-celtic that most of the rest of the album features - but to be specific, it's reminiscent of an older tone ('90s or earlier), rather than modern country. ... In other words, it recalls an era of that genre which I actually like. So, even though it's a departure from the rest of the album in terms of style, I certainly don't mind it. The sad, longing lyrics about lost love, as well as the combination of slow guitar and fiddle are mainly what bring that genre to mind for me.
05. Chickadee's Delight
Another bouncy mixture of three instrumental songs: First "Chickadee's Delight", which is Hoyt's; then two traditional jigs, "Sleeping Maggie" and "Musical Priest". This one is slightly different from the rest of the instrumentals on the album in that it incorporates a lot of lovely harp.
06. Picture on my Heart
Another song in which the lyrics and music are both Hoyt's, rather than traditional. There's something about this song that reminds me of older music by The Rankin Family. As far as I'm concerned, that's not a bad thing, because I love The Rankin Family. But, it's possible that it only reminds me of that because of stylistic convention.
07. Vimy Ridge [Song/Video]
This song was the first I ever heard by Hoyt, and I think it gave me slightly skewed impressions of what her music was like. Stylistically, it reminds me a lot of Loreena McKennitt's music, in terms of vocals + musical backing. But the rest of the album isn't like McKennitt at all; Hoyt really does her own thing, and the only similarity there is that they're both female Canadian musicians working in roughly the same genre - though Hoyt leans more traditional, and McKennitt more new age.
The song is a story of the lives lost during the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, drawing on the Commonwealth tradition of slow, mournful war songs. Culturally, this particular battle is pretty important for Canadians; it's one of those moments in Canadian history that is guaranteed to come up in school and so on. I'm surprised there aren't more songs about it. Anyway, I'm rather fond of this song, even if it isn't representative of the rest of the album.
08. Song for the Mira
This is a traditional Canadian maritime folksong; the Mira River referred to here is located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It's one of the slower songs on the album, but it's lighthearted, sweet, and cozy. Absolutely lovely. Something about the tone reminds me of Christmas, or at least Winter, even though it isn't a song for that season. Probably it's just due to the comforting sound of the whole thing. Oddly enough, the instrumental section toward the end sounds very similar to "Zelda's Lullaby" from the Legend of Zelda games - it doesn't match the tune exactly (one or two notes are different), but it's certainly close enough to make both my eyebrows raise. But I doubt it was intentional.
09. Devil in the Kitchen
I'm mainly familiar with Ashley MacIsaac's version of this song (which is on youtube here), but his version and Hoyt's are very different. MacIsaac tends toward experimental fiddle music, and his version of "Devil in the Kitchen" is so sharp and rough that I feel comfortable calling it a metal take on that tune. Hoyt's version is slower, sweeter, less intense; you jig to it, you don't mosh to it. More of a traditional take on the song, I think. Even though I love MacIsaac's version, I can see myself listening to Hoyt's take on it more frequently.
10. Jolene
Hoyt's take on the song that is better known for Dolly Parton's version. I think that overall, I prefer Parton's version of the song. Hoyt's version sounds really nice, and I love the way harp and bodhran are incorporated into the instrumentals, but the vocals sound too sweet and pretty for my taste; they don't give the song the same desperate edge that I associate with Parton's version.
11. B set
Another instrumental mix, made up of Hoyt's "The Hollyhocks", the traditional "Highlander's Hornpipe", and Hoyt's "Marla's Return from Saskatchewan". It's light and upbeat, which is a nice contrast to the slower, darker-sounding "Jolene" before it.
12. Home
This is the title track for the album, and it's a song about Alberta. It's slow, quiet, thoughtful, and goddamn does it ever make me homesick for Drumheller. Even if it weren't lovely - and it is indeed pretty - I would love it purely for that reason. But I'm always a sucker for songs that mention places that I know or, even better, have lived in.
13. Suzy's Reel
A mixture of three: Hoyt's "Suzy's Reel", and the traditional "The Unfortunate Rake" and "Haste to the Wedding". Sweet, upbeat and light, it takes up the same tone of the other bouncing instrumentals in the album.
14. Ashokan Farewell
This is a slow-toned, lament-like song composed by Jay Unger, and many people have covered it. No surprise there - it's so lovely and sad. Hoyt's version makes use of fiddle and piano, and I think the combination works really well.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3419080.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.