Full Review

Nancy Kerr & James Fagan – Twice Reflected Sun

Its ten years since Nancy & James won the horizon award at the BBC Folk Awards and since then, through a combination of great live shows and strong discs, they’ve established themselves as one of the finest folk duos in the UK, with a reputation for mixing traditional material with their own songs. This new disc is the first time they’ve put together a collection of their own material, and the 11 tracks here are a mixture of 9 new songs and 2 tunes; the tunes are beautiful delicate pieces that create natural breaks to the flow of the disc, but the real highlights here are the songs that show Nancy’s writing and the instrumental skills of the duo at their very best.
Vocals are shared over the disc, with Nancy taking the lead on the majority of songs, and most songs see them singing together at some point – there are some superb vocals performances here, notably there’s a delicate immediacy to ‘Rammed Earth’ that works beautifully, and the rhythmic delivery of the melody in ‘Queen of Waters’ makes this a song with an instant appeal.
While easily identifiable for their vocals, the instrumental work of Nancy’s fiddle and James’ guitar-bouzouki are just as distinctive, and on ‘Twice Reflected Sun’ the duo are at their very best with a beautiful balance of instruments and vocals.
Highlights include the catchy melody and delivery of ‘Queen of Waters’, the contrast of styles and approach on ‘Jerilderie’, and it all ends in a compelling combination of great songwriting, arrangement and performance on ‘Rammed Earth’.
Of all the Kerr & Fagan albums, this is the best balanced in every respect – the performances, songs and arrangements are all memorable and of the highest standard, making ‘Twice Reflected Sun’ one of the best contemporary folk discs around. Very highly recommended.