Review by Jason Barnard
Jack Hayter’s new album presents a series of stories linked to now derelict children’s home in London’s Abbey Wood.
Abbey Wood showcases a range of folk styles with contemporary lyrics – ‘The Mullberry Tree’ recalls Bert Jansch whilst ‘Fanny Hill’ brings in Jansch to a medieval sound.
https://soundcloud.com/jack-hayter/1-the-mulberry-tree-at-abbey-wood
The spoken word-choral ‘But I Don’t About About Frankie’ stuns with tale of death of a boy ‘frozen solid’, a darker stripped take on Pulp’s masterpiece ‘Wickerman’. ‘At Crossness Near Pumping Station’ brings in both approaches to this sound, with lyrics highlighting disgust in the urban darkness.
Abbey Wood is a record that works as one piece of art – a series of linked stories in the urban London landscape. Jack finds beauty in the darkness. Remarkable.
