When looking into the review of The Fairport Companion — Loose Chippings compilation, I come across The Eighteenth Day Of May and their influences were said to be Shirley Collins and Martin Carthy. Well that was enough for me to be impressed enough to get their debut album.

With the news that Julie Dyble is back recording, folk-rock is clearly on a roll and yet another summer of love is anticipated. That’ll be fine for this six-piece London-based band who are Allison Brice (vocals, flute, dulcimer, harmonium), Alison Cotton (viola), Mark Nicholas (bass, backing vocals, guitar), Richard Olson (vocals, guitar, sitar, harmonica), Ben Phillipson (vocals, guitar, mandolin) and Karl Sabino (drums, percussion, autoharp, backing vocals, glockenspiel and Paisley pattern fashion revivalist). From that list, you get the idea this group are a multi-talented collection of musicians.

On the album, there is a Bert Jansch cover (‘Deed I Do’) and a couple of the trad folk arrangements, ‘Flowers Of The Forest’ (Brice and Cotton to the fore with flute and viola respectively) and the longer ‘Lady Margaret’. The instrumental ‘Twig Folly Close’ sounds like it should be a long lost folk club favourite (even though it’s on the edge of Victoria Park in Bethnal Green).

Lead singers Brice and Olsen swap duties and, unusually, the backing vocals of Phiipson/Nicholas also catch your ear, like on Olson’s ‘Hide + Seek’. ‘Sir Casey Jones’ is so sixties, Brian Matthews should be playing it. This is where the Byrds influences are most obvious and in true Byrds reverence, on ‘Monday Morning’s No Good Coming Down’ there’s a Dylanesque harp solo at the end. Don’t be scared by this as there’s quite a bit in the mix, even a touch of the Wicker Man about them (see ‘The Waterman’s Song To His Daughter’). Also see the compilation Where The Sea Meets The Sky which features a track by the Wicker Man inspired, Tunng.

There’s a short Tunng-like track to finish with but the highlight is Brice (in all her rolls), but particularly ‘The Highest Tree’ and the opening track, ‘Eighteen Days’. ‘Eighteen Days’ is huge and even Rob da Bank has spotted its potential.

While Blue Room favourite Davendra Banhart leads the US psych-folk movement, this UK version is the one to watch at the festivals this summer (Rob, Bestival this year?). Check out their myspace site for audio and gig listings.

Reviewed: The Eighteenth Day Of May - The Eighteenth Day Of May (Hannibal) Cat. No. HNCD 1496 Release date: 2005
Tracklisting:
1. Eighteen Days (6:24)
2. Sir Casey Jones (3:14)
3. The Highest Tree (3:27)
4. Deed I Do (3:55)
5. Hide + Seek (3:06)
6. Twig Folly Close (2:04)
7. Lady Margaret (6:49)
8. Cold Early Morning (3:53)
9. Monday Morning’s No Good Coming Down (3:21)
10. The Waterman’s Song To His Daughter (5:06)
11. Flowers Of The Forest (5:09)
12. The Mandrake Screams (1:10)

Links:
www.theeighteenthdayofmay.com
www.myspace.com/theeighteenthdayofmay
www.judydyble.com
BBC Blue Room Acoustic Blue Room - 18th Day Of May - Eighteen Days &
Davendra Banhart
Twig Folly Close on www.streetmap.co.uk
Bestival - www.bestival.net: Already announced Davendra Banhart, Tunng & Mixmaster Morris