helen mccookerybook: poetry & rhyme (2008)

Helen McCookerybook
Poetry & Rhyme •••½
Barbaraville / Voiceprint 

A little character sketch of the eclectically skilled Helen McCookerybook may be helpful if you missed our review of her solo debut, Suburban Pastoral, back in 2006. Born Helen McCallum, our songstress now goes under the title of Dr Helen Reddington, and is both a lecturer and published author. Her insightful tome ‘The Lost Women Of Rock Music’ was released in 2007 and features interviews with the likes of Gina Birch, Rhoda Dakar, The Slits and the late John Peel, among others. Her musical path took root in the sweaty, safety-pinned punk era, where she played bass and sung in Brighton-based outfit The Chefs. A later effort, Helen & The Horns, saw her move into jazz-pop territory, which eventually led to a solo career and the moniker with which we know her best, Helen McCookerybook.

Poetry & Rhyme is Helen’s second solo album and continues in much the same vein as her debut: charming and surprising in equal measures. Her well-spoken, middle-class cadence may not be to everyone’s taste but it stands out brightly, and with a smile, fully aware and not minding in the slightest. The twelve songs that grace this album are crafted with a care and skill that you can’t help but admire, shining with a playful joy that balances the twee, pastoral style the tunes evoke. With musical contributions from a range of souls – Martin Stephenson, Paul Davey, Gina Birch, Count Dubulah, Elle Osborne and Allan Bradbury – the album has a beautifully smooth, cohesive sound. There is a minimalist magic to the composing, which consists mainly of gentle, muted steel guitar, lifted by Helen’s birdsong vocals.

While the majority of the album sways with gentle jazzy rhythms, there are touches of many genres peeping through. ‘Rock ‘n’ Romance’ is a 36-second rockabilly-inspired number, perhaps a cheeky nod to her punk days, while the blues-tinged ‘Screaming’ is an animated huff delving into the hair-yanking frustrations of life in all its confusing glory. ‘A New Day’ revels in a soft ragtime melody, beaming with buzzing clarinet notes and inspirational words, while end song ‘Sulkworm’ is resplendent with a lulling melody of warm, fuzzing chimes.

McCookerybook fills her music with a myriad of pastoral elements, from sunshine and butterflies to poetry and Parisian cafés. These quintessential themes animate her music, filling it with a genuine, rosy-cheeked joy. This ability to celebrate the natural and creative is a precious one and should be enjoyed wholeheartedly. Poetry & Rhyme, like its playfully ambiguous title, is a sweet and intoxicating mixture of sounds and thoughts. An SAD-beating summer’s picnic of an album.

Charlotte Richardson Andrews
UK release date: 27/10/08

 

Helen McCookerybook & Martin Stevenson, ‘Loverman’, live in Newcastle

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji1jAOHh1eY]

Written by: Wears The Trousers magazine

Tags: charlotte richardson andrews, helen mccookerybook

This entry was posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 at 11:03 pm and is filed under albums & EPs, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.