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Mighty Village Records [Release date: 17.11.23]
Twenty one albums into a career that has set the bar so high in the singer/songwriter genre, Thea Gilmore has, at last, had the self-confidence and artistic freedom to release an eponymously titled set of songs.
The emotional rollercoaster of her previous album, released under the epithet ‘Afterlight’, where she bared her soul about her long-term relationship breakdown, was to many (myself included), a first proper insight into the real Thea Gilmore – unencumbered by external musical dictats and allowing her own music to tell its own, often painful, story.
Thea bookended that album with two spoken word pieces and employs the same approach here on an album of such brilliance and not a little bravery that, to be honest, moved this admittedly cynical bastard in a way very few albums have done previously.
Should we be surprised?
No, as this is one of the finest singer/songwriters this country has ever produced and whose way with words is, and always has been, the platform on which her entire raison d’être has been built.
The emotional catharsis she has been through has helped her tap into a rich vein of absolute killer songs – yes, reaching into the very depths of despair at times – but also lighting the way for both her, and the rest of us, to believe in a life-affirming future.
Twelve tracks here and not a word is wasted on any of them – demonstrating a need to move on but with a bitter look back in the rear-view mirror.
From the opening beat-poem-alike ‘Nice Normal Woman’ to the superlative album closer ‘The Bright Service’, every track carries a message – not in a hectoring way but in a way that skewers the subject – be it ‘Bones’ with its coruscating lines “You took me right down to the ashes, like all the things you owned, but there’s a fire still burning here inside me, yeah, you really should have known”, or the wonderful counterpoint on ‘Unravel Me’.
There’s the biting lyrics of ‘The Next Time You Win’ or the (surely) Billy Bragg-inspired feel of ‘That’s Love Motherfucker’ – although it’s odd on the latter hearing such language from a quiet Oxford girl…
There’s optimism on ‘The Chance’ and more aim-taking at her relationship on the acoustic ‘Talking Out Of Tune’.
You may have heard the moving ‘She Speaks In Colours’ that Thea wrote about Ellen Raffell from Blyth who died at just 16 from anaphylaxis in 2019 and which had its debut on BBC TV’s The One Show as part of the 21st Century Folk project.
And what can you say about ‘Home’ – an affecting insight into what went on: “this is my home you know, this is the place he said I belonged, under the roof of regret, the safety of knowing I’m wrong, this is what I learned as love, til now”. Wow.
Thea Gilmore has crafted here an album for the ages that anyone with even half a heart can enjoy for its musical excellence alone – but for those who have experienced relationship breakdown, a comfort-blanket delivered in words and music that’s simply breathtaking. *****
Review by Alan Jones
UK dates 2024
29 Jan Celtic Connections, Glasgow
31 Jan St George’s, Bristol
01 Feb SJE Arts, Oxford
02 Feb Huntingdon Hall, Worcester
03 Feb Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea
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KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
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09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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