The roots of this cycle of songs, tunes and spoken word lie within Rose Blakeley’s book, A Pathway Through The Seasons, a collection of narrative verse which, in turn, drew its inspiration from English seasonal lore and custom. Who better to set this material to music, then, than Garry, a singer and multi-instrumentalist probably best known for his work with Feast Of Fiddles? As such a pedigree may suggest, the playing and arrangements are firmly in the best tradition of English folk-rock, with echoes of Fairport (‘Sunrise/A New Day Begins’) and early Steeleye Span (‘The Green Man’ and ‘The Summer Polkas’ in particular). Garry’s no mean singer, either, with the delivery of the plaintive ‘Farewell To Winter’ reminding me a little of Jon Boden. Narrative links are read expressively by Jane Downes but as always with such projects, I wonder how often I’ll want to listen to them. That caveat aside, this is certainly a well-constructed, evocative whole, with a number of particularly strong individual tracks that can stand alone outside the confines of the album.

Oz Hardwick - R2 Magazine, July/August 2010

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