(2021) Jacob & Drinkwater - More Notes from the Field


Review:
Building on the success of their first studio album, This Old River (2019), More Notes from the Field is a significant achievement for Jacob & Drinkwater: an album that digs deep creatively and emotionally but is also beautiful and accessible. The album opens with the near title track, ‘More Notes’. It’s a gentle, witty preface that reflects on a life on the road as touring musicians. After the acoustic opening verse, the chorus is lifted by Lukas Drinkwater’s evocative and electric guitar.
Lukas really makes a mark with the arrangements and instrumentation, not only with harmonious backing vocals but also electric and double bass, guitars, various keyboards, drums and percussion. A talented chap, he is also canny enough to use his diverse abilities to best serve andelevate the songs. All eleven tracks are written by Tobias ben Jacob (guitar and vocals), mostly in isolation over the last few years in his adopted home of Poland (he originally hails from Lancashire). The material ranges from poignant vignettes of modern life, such as the touching Nowhere On Sea about loneliness in a rundown seaside town, to more mystical songs like Golden Man. The latter is one of the more traditional folky-sounding songs on the album. It tells of someone (the narrator) taking a spiritual journey to a valley, there to encounter the titular figure (‘a giant… part spirit and part wild’). Packed with biblical and mythical allusions ‘a voice in the wilderness’ who ‘asks you to repent’ who has shaken ‘the scales from his eyes’. It’s enigmatic enough to confound any specific interpretation but remains spellbinding. Two older songs also feature. Higher Than The Moon has remained a live favourite for many years, appearing on their first album, Live At Hope Hall (2016). It’s an upbeat, joyous love song, preluded by Lukas’ bowed double bass. It’s great to have a fully-formed studio version.The other is a ‘forgotten’ song of Jacobs. A friend recorded him singing The Nameless more than a decade ago, and since then, it slipped out of his memory. This is rather astonishing, given that it would be the standout track on any singer-songwriter’s album. In 2021, this hymn-like anthem for the forgotten seems even more prescient. Although a departure from their usual acoustic backing, the gentle electronic arrangement remains in keeping with the duo’s oeuvre.The Nameless would be the most heartbreaking song on the album if not for To Call You A Friend, which is breathtaking in its emotional punch. While this album is dedicated to a ‘dear friend’ Richard Bridge, as is this particular song, it is also a rallying call to take care of and treasure those nearest and dearest to us all. Lukas’ partner Emily Barker’s backing vocals ramps up the emotion to a peak (she also plays the harmonica on Nowhere On Sea). Meanwhile, Sargasso Sea is a little bit of a departure for Jacob & Drinkwater, with distinct country music overtones. Tobias even serenades with a whistling solo. Another more mysterious song, the borderless ocean gyre that results in a deep blue sea of exceptional clarity, is employed as a metaphor for always being drawn back home however far you stray. Accompanied by a pitch-perfect Nashville electric guitar solo, it’s another standout. For Old Time’s Sake and Perrenial Friend continue the album’s overarching theme of friendship and seizing the moment to spend time and value those we love the most. Something we’ve all learnt the value of over the past months of restrictions and lockdowns. But this isn’t an album for 2020 or 2021; it’s wide-reaching, timeless and masterful. Jacob & Drinkwater are at the high-water mark of contemporary folk music and this is a simply brilliant album.





Track Listing:
1.More Notes 03:32
2.Perennial Friend 03:14
3.Higher than the Moon 02:54
4.Golden Man 04:44
5.Nowhere on Sea 06:06
6.The Nameless 03:11
7.A Day Out of Time 03:56
8.To Call You Friend 04:54
9.Sargasso Sea 02:59
10.For Old Time's Sake 03:02
11.The Other World 03:32


Media Report:
Genre:  indie-folk
Country: UK
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits