Album review: JON BODEN & THE REMNANT KINGS – Parlour Ballads

Hudson Records [Release date 27.09.24]

“Parlour Music” is a genre that has been much derided over the centuries. Its heyday was the Victorian era when many middle-class houses had pianos and many middle-class sons and daughters could sight-read piano scores to a high level, musical literacy being highly prized. This album is not a collection of parlour songs in the technical sense of the term, but it does seek to awaken the sound of the old, well loved, slightly out of tune domestic piano and to reunite it with (or introduce it to) songs that might feel glad of the acquaintance.

As Jon Boden explains, “I have been toying with the idea of a piano-based folk album for many years. Although I consider myself a competent-at-best pianist (my sight reading would certainly not have passed muster in the middle-class Victorian parlour described above) I adore playing piano and have probably spent as many thousands of hours trying to get to grips with it as I have the fiddle or the guitar. In particular I love using it to accompany slow, sentimental ballads such as several of the tracks on this album.”

Parlour Ballads was produced by long time collaborator Andy Bell and features The Remnant Kings – Sam Sweeney, Ben Nicholls, Rob Harbron, Sally Hawkins & M G Boulter. Paul Sartin was a key member of the Remnant Kings for ten years and was involved in the early developments of this album, before his passing in 2022.

The first single from the album, ‘Old Brown’s Daughter’, is one of the finest vocal performances from Jon Boden, although to be fair he is one of the finest folk singers around today! However, it is ‘Mortal Cares’ that steals the show, with a modern air and haunting backing vocals that kept reminding me of ‘Ghost Town’ by the Specials! Not an artist you’d think of when listening to an album of traditional songs.

Not sure who provides the deep backing vocals on ‘Merry Mountain Child’, but they add an extra bit of magic to the song, along with the pedal steel playing of M.G. Boulter.

‘Oggie Man’ is a toe tapper, with an Americana feel, although the piano’s sound keeps it within the parlour ballads sound. The folk tradition of murder is represented by ‘Prentice Boy’. Wonderfully sung by Jon Boden with banjo and dobro adding to the overall air of menance.

Jon Boden rarely puts a musical foot wrong and he has another winner here with ‘Parlour Ballads’, ably aided by the Remnant Kings. Proof that traditional music can be given a fresh sound with each passing generation of musicians. Perfection. ****

Review by Jason Ritchie

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