Granny’s Attic – Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne (Melodeon, Anglo Concertina, Vocals), George Sansome (Guitar, Vocals) and Lewis Wood (Violin, Vocals) – are a folk trio who play the tradition with verve, energy and their own inimitable style. They are all exceptional musicians and fine singers and play English traditional and original music. Since 2009 they have toured across the UK and Europe and been heralded for their lively performances, and delivery and selection of traditional songs.
Despite still being in their 20s, this Worcester trio seem like they’ve fallen through a wormhole in the late 1960s and arrived in the present-day sounding remarkably like the British folk giants of that era: Tony Rose, Nic Jones, Martin Carthy, Dave Swarbrick and John Kirkpatrick. They have recently produced a third album Wheels of the World following Better Weather (2014) and Off The Land (2016) and they have enlisted award-winning musician Sean Lakeman to produce. What Sean brings is a touch of audible class to match the group’s musicianship.
Their decade on the road (barring further education interludes) has formed them into a tight and exciting ensemble, excelling at both traditional instrumentals and ballads. Cohen’s remarkably folky lead vocals feature on the more strident songs while George’s more wistful and romantic tones suit the sweeping ballads.
Alongside the expertly-played tunes such as Dove’s Figary and Riddle’s Hornpipe, are the three aforementioned original tunes by fiddler Lewis Wood. All fit snugly alongside the bruised and beaten trad material. Add this to extra lyrics and adaptations of the traditional ballads, and I rather hope we get some wholly original songs from Granny’s Attic soon. They’ve certainly served their apprenticeship.
Wheels Of The World’ is the title track of the new album. A song of Irish origin (Roud 16901), it takes the listener on a vivid tour of the early 19th-century European political landscape. The song presents some key figures as “spinners”, referring to the spinning wheels of the mills that changed the face of textile manufacture with the Industrial Revolution. The penultimate verse describes a situation that is still familiar in the 21st century:
They don’t give a fig for the poor; they hear not their sighs or their moans
They don’t care a pin if you work ‘til you spin all the flesh off your bones.
For a song written so long ago, it remains unfortunately relevant in today’s political climate. It reflects the ever-widening divisions in society between those with money and power and those without them.
