The World Outside Is In A Cupboard

Rachael Dadd

Bristol based Rachael Dadd is part of a quiet bedroom revolution. Due to the availability and affordability of home-recording equipment many a musician is now able to bypass the traditional studio set-up. Of course this isn't a new phenomenon but it is certainly more widespread.

Rachael is part of the loose-knit Fence Collective and has recently toured with close associates Andi Skellam and Wig Smith. With a string of releases to her own name it's also with Wig that she has the opportunity for additional creative expression as the duo 'The Hand'.

In her brief time on the planet she has mastered a number of musical styles on piano, banjo and guitar. From this starting point with it's infinite possibilities she has hewn an enigmatic album that requires your full attention.

The instant appeal of 'The World...' is the catchy intrigue of 'The Wires' and 'Caught In The Weight'. Shrouded in metaphor yet somehow confessional both are deliciously hummable. Further exploration provides us with a sense of endless journeying. There's a seafaring adventure where 'a pirate or two' are picked up on 'Ships'. Trips 'into the wilderness' on 'And When I Cannot Dream'. There's an empowering cry of 'we will not drown' during 'River Swimmers' which cuts through some nagging discontent and leaves us with reassurance that there will be a safe passage for the characters who inhabit these strange expeditions.

Whether handling strings or keys tracks are treated to waves of delicate arpeggios. Then never short on experimentation percussion is a string of found sounds and handheld drums. Rachael's voice, sometimes stark and wavering, occasionally multi-layered and surging could be compared to PJ Harvey's latest ethereal guise. If we head for the heart of her sound though we end up at the recent folk ramblings of Diane Cluck or Josephine Foster for spiritual sisters.

Rachael Dadd has married heartfelt skewed laments and homegrown recording trickery for this curious odyssey. Some may feel the full studio treatment may have improved matters but to add anything else we would have lost something of what we have, an absorbing twisted web of fables.

Dave Kushar