Do you remember that wonderful band Holy Moly and the Crackers? You do? Well the band are no more but front woman Ruth Lyon has now embarked on a solo career. I was lucky enough to catch her live at the fabulous Fulford Arms in York last week. But before I tell you about Ruth and her band I need to clue you in on the rather splendid support artist, Sara Wolff. She is a very talented Norwegian troubadour. She writes and sings sublime, sad (mostly), story songs. I could chill to her gorgeous sounds with a late night cold wine or on a sunny day with a pint or two. You need to check her out.
Ruth Lyon throws her wonderful vocals over the sublime sounds created by a band that perform with the skill and panache of a 21st Century Blockheads. Their musical vibes are soulful, jazzy and gloriously gorgeous. Ruth’s voice has the clarity of crystal glass tapped with metal and sounds like it communicates with just you as it entices you into her world which I reckon is almost certainly a better world than this one. A lot of the tracks played in this show will be included on her debut solo album which is scheduled for a June release. “Books” which is a tale of book hoarding which many of us can relate to is wonderful. “Wicker Man” is stunning and Ruth set some homework by asking us all to watch the “Wicker Man” video. I did and I love it! “Flood” is magnificent and I love the main lyrical hook “all I am is a bag of bones”. That line also features on the Ruth Lyon tote bag on the merch table. The new single is “Perfect” and frankly it is.
The emotion in Ruth’s songs and her voice is palpable and almost sentient. “Hill” sums that feeling up perfectly and as the lady herself said that the song is for anyone who has ever had their heart broken. So that is all of us, right? Ruth’s banter with her audience was delightfully entertaining. She said that she challenged herself to include words in songs that are hardly seen, or never seen, in lyrics. Hence Encyclopaedia in “Books” and Car Boot Sale in “Dust”. Her new album will be mega, so get listening to some Ruth Lyon NOW!
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