Katherine Priddy – The Pendulum Swing

Folk

64%

 

Sometimes it’s hard to pin down if an album is great, when its greatness can only be seen in a certain light. Occasionally we’re treated to a record for all seasons, music you could listen to every day of the year and it would never lose its potency, but for a lot of records there’s a particular time, place, or mood in which they’re best experienced. An album of dumb mindless fun might make your spirit sour if it finds you when you’re already riding a high, likewise that break-up album you once overlooked might hit different if you return to it when caught in the midst of your own heartache.

We’re all well accustomed to hearing in nature documentaries about “survival of the fittest”, but in reality the biggest and strongest isn’t always best. Nature isn’t a some battle royale, it’s all about balance. “The fittest” instead quite literally means that which best fits. Life that finds its own tiny little niche in this big wide world and adapts to make it their own. No matter how clever and evolved we think we are, we’ll never flit about the sky with the grace and beauty of a dragonfly, nor will we stand tall and proud watching centuries pass by like the mighty oak. 

The Pendulum Swing feels like that very specific kind of listening experience. Made to scratch a particular itch, rather than appeal to everyone at once. To my mind it’s the kind of album I’d rush headlong towards when looking for something fresh which in some way captures the spirit of classic singer/songwriters like James Taylor, Carole King, or Joni Mitchell. The kind of intimate, hand-crafted record that you save for a special occasion. Some lazy Sunday, first warm sun of spring streaming through the window, nowhere to be, nothing demanding your time, putting on music not as background noise for a mindless task, but to just sit and absorb in a moment of peace. That’s where this record fits. 

For while Katherine Priddy’s voice may be as warm and rich as the first hot cuppa on a frosty morning, it is the blooming vitality of spring that is most embodied here. There’s a sense of life and energy returning. Most every track seems to grow from sparse folk beginnings into more lush and stately arrangements. Moreover the shift is so slow and subtle that you don’t even notice the change until you’re surrounded by it, like the rising tide lapping at your feet. ‘Selah’ evolves into palatial Eastern string arrangements and light intricate percussion, ‘These Words Of Mine’ dips into sun-kissed Americana with its steel guitar and expressive drum work, while the sweet melodies and elegant rise and fall of ‘A Boat on the River’ make it one of the album’s standouts. The jaunty fingerpicking of ‘Northern Sunrise’ could have been lifted straight from the golden age of singer/songwriters, the charming duet ‘Ready To Go’ has more than a little country twang to it, while ‘Does She Hold You Like I Did’ stands out by conjuring up the wild west with its driving beat and spaghetti western brass. 

The question now becomes: is an album great if it does one thing very well? A positive answer to that question relies on you being in the right frame of mind to connect with its specific niche. While I recognise the draw that The Pendulum Swing holds, I’m also aware of the fact that in my time spent with the record I never found that sweet spot. You can’t make yourself be in the mood for an album anymore than you can make yourself fall in love; it just happens when it happens. For most of us hitting play, The Pendulum Swing will be a charming listen worth returning to one day. But hit play in just the right moment, when everything is aligned to heighten its powers and open your mind, then I’m sure you’ll be in no doubt that this a great record.