RISE (TALITHA RISE)

Jo Beth Young, the multi-instrumentalist, singer songwriter, presents her second album, Strangers. With a musical style in the gap between Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks, she very much commands her own style and sound. Her 2023 tour of UK and Ireland kicks off in Cardiff on 13th October, at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre. Finishing in Ireland in November, do catch one of the shows if you can, all at wonderful venues giving splendid atmosphere. These are still tough times for artists and they need our support! The shows promise to bring an original format, with storytelling and a joint venture with fellow folk artist Serious Child. Tickets are available via jobethyoung.com for around £17. I was paying that amount for concert tickets back in the seventies!

So to this, her second album. The collaboration with Martyn Barker for her first album has ended, hence the reduction of the group name to just Rise, as if Martyn was the Talitha in the previous group. For me, Strangers has the same quality of sound and songwriting as An Abandoned Orchid House, with a shift in emphasis towards piano and strings, to which is added once again the delight of Jo Beth's unique vocals. The beauty and musical intelligence from the first album continues, as the main artist here in Rise delivers her music her way.

I rate this album as highly for enjoyment as I do Jo Beth's first, yet in the PA ratings system, I feel obliged to notch it down a peg to 4 stars. I think there are other rather different yet equally good piano and strings albums out there, delivering beautiful progressive melodies and songs, so rather than claim this album to be essential, I will rate it as an excellent addition to any progressive collection. Its unique style and sound are a definite progression from An Abandoned Orchid House. The emotive performances are stepped up, especially in the title track, my personal favourite of any of Jo Beth's songs so far.

There is a good variety of moods explored throughout the 9 tracks on Strangers. The keyboard-strings-vocals triad shifts through dark clouds, radio silence and skysailing on its way to the finale of The Old Sewing-woman's Song. This is the longest and most progressive track recorded by Jo Beth and one of her own personal favourites. It is a beautiful closer to a beautiful album. If you like Kate Bush or any of the songs sung by McVie or Nicks on Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, I recommend this album to you. (rating: 4 out of 5)

Jo Beth Young, the driving force behind this, her debut album, is about to embark on a rare tour of UK and Ireland, through October and November. If like me, you missed out on seeing any equally rare live performance by Kate Bush, you have a chance to make some amends to your musical soul by getting a ticket for one of Jo Beth's special shows. Her musical style sits in the gap between Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks, yet she has very much her own sound. The shows promise to bring an original format, too, with storytelling and a joint venture with fellow folk artist Serious Child. Affordably priced tickets are available via jobethyoung.com. Catch the show if you can at one of her carefully selected, amazing venues, such as Hedingham Castle!

So, to this debut album, a collaboration with Martyn Barker, bringing about the Talitha Rise group name. Debut albums are notoriously experimental and toe-in-the-water efforts, very often shown up by the second or third albums, as the artist gets to grip with how to really turn it on. Then the debut appears dull in comparison, but some artists get it right first time. My favourite debut by any artist is The Kick Inside, especially considering Kate Bush wrote some of the songs at the piano before she even took her O-levels. For me, An Abandoned Orchid House flies out of the blocks with the same gusto, beauty and musical intelligence.

Martyn Barker brings an eastern flavour to the mixes with his guitar playing and his contribution to the album must be acknowledged. His percussion, too, is perfect for the songs, so credit where credit is due. It is Jo Beth out front with her voice that is the star attraction here, though.

My ticker name on PA gives away the fact that I am biased towards this artist. I rate some albums in my 400 cd collection higher than this one for overall enjoyment, but I have to award this album with 5 stars under the PA rating system because I consider it essential in its unique style and sound. You will not hear other vocals quite like Jo Beth Young's and I am a massive fan of the emotive quality, on a par with Peter Gabriel for moving this one particular listener. Music is Marmite. You either get it or you do not, yet always remember with both food and music, there is such a thing as acquired taste. I love that quality of truly progressive music, where familiarity breeds context and joy.

Across this album, guitar, piano and violin accompany quavering vocals, the sympathetic vibrations cleanse and soothe my nervous system. What else would one expect from a songwriter who once trained as an Energy Healer? She sees music as a healing art and sings accordingly. The careful selection of other artists playing string pieces has been mixed to perfection throughout, with a french horn in there, too. It is that reaching out for the unusual yet apt that propels the music towards its progressive qualities, eg. the African one-string fiddle known as a Riti or Nyanyero on Incantation.

Each of the 10 tracks on An Abandoned Orchid House carries melodies that were captured spontaneously, on the ear while out in nature, rather than technically planned as compositions on keyboard or strings. Then, the technicalities follow by instrument and mixing desk to add depth and colour, with many nuances and layering of sounds and reverb. I guess many artists have worked this way; I know Elgar did while out on the Malvern Hills, riding his Royal Sunbeam bicycle he called Mr Phoebus. I love the results of this fluid method of songwriting, following the flow of what feels good as nature inspires the imagination and the muses within find a fitting melody.

I will just add that if you do not like the opening track, this album is not going to be your cup of tea. It opens the set in a beautiful style that runs like a theme throughout. The album ends on a stunner, too. If you like Kate Bush's The Man with the Child in his Eyes, you should give this album a listen or two or three... (rating: High 5s)

I think what I have here is the third issue of this 6-track EP which was originally released in 2014 under the name Big Blue World, the duo with Jo Beth Young and Martyn Baker (Shriekback, Goldfrapp, Robert Plant). It was then reissued on CD in 2017 under the name Talitha Rise, their new band, with an additional song and different artwork, and now it is available digitally through Jo Beth's Bandcamp pages it is back as a 6-track with another image. Actually, this image is by far the most fitting, as it ties in perfectly with what I think of for Talitha Rise, Rise or Jo Beth Young. She is easily one of the most exciting singers and performers I have come across for some time, and I only wish I were back in the UK so I could see her play. As it is, I have to be content with listening to songs which came out six years ago but could easily have been recorded just yesterday.

I know Baker was a key part of her musical journey, and his acoustic guitar is an important part of the sound, as is Jo Beth's piano, but is her vocals and the wonderful arrangements I have come to associate with her that make this album what it is. There are plenty of strings and layerings, but as always, I am drawn to that voice, that wonderful voice, as she sings to us about magpies, foxes, and brings the land to life. Acoustic, singer-songwriter, folky, progressive, it really does not matter at all what one wants to call the genre, as at the end of the day it is all about wonderful beautiful music

I have been a huge fan of Jo's last couple of albums as Talitha Rise and Rise, and now she is moving out under her own name. This two-track digital single features a radio edit of 'Allumez' along with 'Invisible Fishing'. In some ways both these songs are more direct than the albums, but that does not detract from the beauty in any way. She is a singer who has an incredible presence and strength, yet there is a frailty about the music as if it is a gossamer web which is struggling to stay together with the dewdrops weighing it down and the gentle breeze moving it. But, there is steel in the design and a power in the vocals, and it is not just beauty but something deep and meaningful. If this is an example of the direction she sees herself moving in then I for one will be following with bated breath to see what happens next.

During the recording of her last album, 'Strangers', Jo Beth Young and violinist Helen Ross had booked a hall to record the violin. After they had finished, Jo Beth started playing the piano which was in a corner (with missing keys), and the two of them started improvising. Also, in the hall that afternoon was the poet Shiu, who started writing words as a response to what he was hearing. Jo Beth and Helen later decided to improvise again, but this time they set up a microphone in the middle of the hall, and Jo Beth sang the words over the top in one take. This is the result of that session, and to say it is magical is something of an understatement. The piano is obviously beat up, but due to that it has a resonance all its own, while there is an interaction between Jo Beth and Helen that is really quite special. When Jo Beth sent this to me I played it and immediately hit repeat, and felt I was being transported into somewhere quite special indeed, where time and space cease to exist and it is only the piano, the violin, and those ethereal wonderful vocals. To think this was fully improvised, with words written only that afternoon, which had never been set to a melody, is simply unthinkable. This is a very special moment, captured in time, and as listeners we are so very lucky indeed to be part of it. Hauntingly beautiful.

Since the release of her debut album, 'An Abandoned Orchid House', Talitha Rise has shortened her name to RISE, but I am more than glad to say that musically she has carried out in a very similar vein. In my review of the debut I said "the arrangements are such so that there is enough going on to pique the listener and want them to spend time unravelling it all, but always at the top of the mix is that wonderful voice, intimate and personal, as if Talitha and the listener are the only people in the world. This is quite some album." To be honest, I could have lifted those and applied it to this one as well, except in many ways this is even more special. I listened to it on headphones again while going on a walk yesterday through the empty streets as well abide with lockdown. I came across just a few people doing the same as me, and we all nodded and smiled at each other, making sure we were always at least 2 metres apart, and the soundtrack playing in my head was perfect accompaniment as I felt I was all alone in the world with just that voice for company.

RISE said: "David Gray once wrote a line that has stuck with me - "and when we meet again, we will be strangers". That, in a nutshell, is the idea behind this album. This album traverses the challenge of the personal 'abyss' and the emergence from the bleakness of loss and separation. This gives way to hope, wisdom and the taking of responsibility." The album wasn't recorded in a studio, as RISE worked distantly with her live band and guests such as Peter Yates (The Fields of The Nephilim) and then worked on each track in the seclusion of the west coast of Ireland. In some ways it is reminiscent of Talis Kimberley, or Enya, or Kate Bush, or Suzanne Vega, or none of the above or all of them. This is an album of atmosphere, of being, of being surrounded by a magical mist where everything works together to create a shimmering backdrop for that voice, for that pure voice.

When I listen to this album, I am taken to a magical place, up on the moors, in the wilds, where there is just me and the landscape, at one with nature. Some songs are basically just RISE, while others have additional musicians, all coming together mixed and melded so the voice is always at the forefront, "Radio Silence" reminds me somewhat of Alabama 3 with a more countrified approach, but their emotion was far more cracked and less poignant, less welcoming. There is percussion on some songs, not on others, guitar the same, while piano is also important, but this is all about the vocals. This is music which takes the listener away from reality, where the only limits are our own imagination as we are taken into magical realms.

Yet another truly incredible work.

What we have here is the debut album from Sussex-based singer-songwriter Talitha Rise. She provides vocals, guitars, keys and more, which were complimented by collaborator Martyn Barker (Shriekback, Robert Plant, Marianne Faithful, Billy Bragg) with both his drumming and multi-instrumental skills. The album also includes guest appearances, including Juldeh Camara (Robert Plant/Justin Adams/Real World - Gambian Riti), Peter Yates (Fields of the Nephilim - guitars) Arnulf Linder (KT Tunstall, Ed Harcourt - cello) and Rory McFarlane (Katie Melua - bass). Award winning songwriter Kathryn Williams provided most of the lyrics for "Valley" while songwriter Nick Webb (vocals, keys) collaborated on "Bloodfox".

What captures the listener from the first note to the very last are the wonderful vocals, which are always front and centre, with some reverb to add a little depth and emotion. The music is ethereal, a beauty that at times appears to be at risk of melting away altogether if the listener concentrates too hard on what is going on. Reminiscent at times of Talis Kimberley, at others of Suzanne Vega, Rise has a very pure sounding voice, one that hasn't been tarnished by modern pop music. Here we have a proper musician, singing wonderfully poignant songs, in a way that will affect anyone lucky enough to hear the album. It really is a thing of beauty, with depths that need discovery and close attention. It is the sort of album that one puts on the player and the world just drifts away, as if what is happening in reality actually doesn't matter anymore.

The arrangements are such so that there is enough going on to pique the listener and want them to spend time unravelling it all, but always at the top of the mix is that wonderful voice, intimate and personal, as if Talitha and the listener are the only people in the world. This is quite some album.