Search - Eighteenth Day of May :: Eighteenth Day of May

Diana H. (Dianaleigh) from KENT, WA
Reviewed on 2/12/2010...

Very enjoyable Folk CD!

Tompee Z. (tompee) from CASTAIC, CA
Reviewed on 6/26/2007...

this is a beautiful album, awesome neo-traditionalist folk, very spacy and harmonious.

British folk-rock by the next generation

John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 05/27/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Makes sense to release this on Joe Boyd's Hannibal label; it sounds as if he could have produced it at least three decades earlier. This band does not copy the hippie vibe that Circulus has on their debut, or the electric folk that Lucky Luke in "Patrick the Survivor" revived on their debut; no tricky rhythms or guitar expertise of a Thompson, Renbourn or Jansch (although they cover a song from Bert); the fuzziness of Espers or the whimsy of Faun Fables or today's earnestly hirsute imitators of early 70s acid-folk acoustic songwriters are also absent. No Comus wannabees or Judie Sill moaners.



Instead, as in various mid-period line-ups of Fairport Convention, it's mainly female and male vocals on alternating with an mix of mandolin-flute softer and more amplified mid-tempo soft-rock. Unlike mid-period Steeleye Span, the band avoids bomabastic over-amplification; they lean away from electric folk in favor of a gentler but not flaccid folk-rock. This is a respectable, modest album. Except for the annoying if brief last track, the songs present themselves with quiet dignity and a degree of polite restraint. They will not bowl you over, but they should interest you, if you are reading this and like some of the bands listed earlier.



So, what makes this young band worthwhile, when so many of its antecedents have records regarded after 35 years as time-tested classics? I think that EDM can stay the course and grow. They work best when the songs, as in tracks 5 and 7 and 11, allow the music to take its time and become more weighty. These three tracks benefit from an airiness that the quieter songs lack, sounding by contrast more airless and gutless. These richer-toned tracks are not by fussy instrumentalization weighed down, and they seem to allow more room for the sounds to move in. This depth of sound they are capable of does not always show them to their strongest on the shorter, especially female-led vocal cuts. These fall into the Sandy Denny-Jacqui McShee school, if lacking the pristine delicacy of Sandy and the theatrical presence of Jacqui. The female singing is not as high, and more modest. The male vocals are not that distinctive per se, but work to move the songs along rather than calling attention to the singer's style. The band has listened to its heritage of the past 50 years of British folk revivalists, and in time they will take on a more assertive, more richly textured sound, I trust.



This album actually was a bit better than I'd expected from the advance buzz I'd heard about EDM. I wish them well. Perhaps Joe Boyd can come out of label-running and produce their next album?"

Sadly No More

Laurence Upton | Wilts, UK | 05/06/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sadly, Eighteenth Day Of May are no more, but at least they have left this eponymous album as a permanent record of how they got things so right, and perhaps they have paved the way for other like-minded musicians to follow.

Folk music needs to re-invent itself from time to time as it did in the late sixties, to connect with the present generations, and to draw from whatever influences inspire the musicians in question. In my opinion, the wider the palette the better.



Brilliant albums like Hark! The Village Wait, Liege And Lief, No Roses and On The Shore seemed to promise great things and for awhile British folk music shed its finger-in-the ear, cosy Arran jumper image and joined the mainstream.



Unfortunately it took not too long to descend into the twee silliness of daft attire, All Around My Hat and its ilk, before returning underground.



There have always been great cult performers like Nic Jones and Martin Carthy, but apart from a few mainstream bands such as All About Eve, who strayed occasionally into folk territory, not much appeared in the spotlight glare of the masses.



Currently, there is a resurgence of interest, thanks to wonderful artists such as Kate Rusby and Eliza Carthy, and it seemed that there was an audience ripe for the likes of Eighteenth Day Of May. For whatever reason, the band didn't last long enough to build on their initial acclaim, but showed that there is plenty of life left in their brand of folk, which is considerably more electric than most of their contemporaries, even psychedelic in places, though this is probably a musical rather than cultural influence.



Most of the songs on the album are home grown and show that they have a flair for the dark side of English balladry, and Sir Casey Jones, for example, sounds as if it could have been around for centuries. There are a couple of traditional songs, however - Flowers Of The Forest, as recorded by Fairport Convention on Full House, and Lady Margaret, which Trees adapted from Buffy Sainte-Marie's acoustic version back in 1970 (another stage favourite is Codine, which was another Buffy Sainte-Marie staple, and their version can be found on a B-side, though it probably owes more to Quicksilver Messenger Service's version). There is also a new arrangement of Bert Jansch's Deed I Do which works very well. The playing is strong, subtle, textured and confident, and is not merely backward looking but updates the material for the new century.



Most of the band had been in other bands before, and viola player Alison Cotton had been in Reading's Festive Fifty-topping Saloon. Hopefully, we will hear from some of them again in other ventures. Even while the band were going there were splinter projects such as the Left Outsides going on.



Music mostly exists within a context and regardless of its inherent worth, the longevity of this album will depend on whether this proves to be an early exponent of a new movement, or just an interesting detour down a blind alley. I am hoping it's the former."