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BRENT MORRISSEY: Echoes - In a Trackless Land

Intimately and oh-so-cleanly recorded, Kiwi folkster Brent Morrissey could be singing in your lounge, telling stories of our people and places. Full of gently rolling rhythms with plaintive whistles and violins, and the odd dash of banjo, bass and cello, it conveys what he calls the ‘sense of loneliness and isolation that characterises this music’. The overall effect is a feeling of stoicism and resourcefulness tempered with the joy of playing music. We all like to feel that this stoicism has been bequeathed to us as sons and daughters of NZ, when in fact I tend to moan if my trim mochacino is too milky… A listen to this album takes you back to the old days of whaling, clearing and building. With a mixture of traditional tunes and ones from newer sources (including one by Morrissey himself) there is an evenness to the sound that makes them all seem to have originated from the colonial era. There is also a musical setting of a poem by A.R.D. Fairburn which has some melancholy slide guitar streaked amongst the harp-like fingerpicking parts. While acknowledging that we must perforce share many of these songs with our Australian neighbours, Morrissey always makes sure to inject Kiwi references – hooray! That’s folk music for you – it should always reflect the folk who are singing it. •

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