Spire's Blog

The many fans of Spire will be delighted with this Oxford-based, 5-piece band’s fourth CD. We have their usual mix of traditional and contemporary material with some vigorous rhythms, strong singing and interweaving harmonies that enchant the ear.

In ‘’Twas on one April Morning’ the silvery sounds of the dulcimer are the perfect background to Sian’s voice, and in ‘The Carnival is Over’ I was moved by Sian’s singing with its sweetness of tone.

Ed’s interest in history is evident again: following his own composition about the sad story of Amy Robsart, ‘The Face of Amy’, from their last CD, this time we have ‘The Edge of the Storm’ (Barbara Payne/Ed Pritchard) with ethereal singing from Ed. It brings to vivid life the legend of Sir William de Tracy  who was involved in the murder of Thomas Becket.

The track I found the most exciting was ‘Searching for Lambs’ where the instruments blend together dramatically with Pete’s vocals. Ed’s other-worldly fiddle playing is accompanied by the rich notes of Steve’s accordion and Pete’s energetic bouzouki playing to produce a moody, rather dark atmosphere that transports us back to the greenwoods, when life was starker but no less passionate.

The song that always brings the house down at their gigs is included here—the haunting ‘Who knows where the time goes?’ (Sandy Denny) with strong singing from Sian and beautiful harmonies from Roxy. Other highlights for me were the tender singing by Roxy and Sian on ‘Circle Round the Sun’ and Pete’s intense evocation of Richard Thompson’s ‘Simple Again’.

You can easily go and hear Spire as they play extensively in Oxfordshire and are regulars at the Killingworth castle pub, Wootton, near Woodstock.