If there is a band who are more of their time, yet out of time, than The Seventeenth Century then I’ve not yet heard them. Strings and acoustic guitars? Check. Love of British folk music? Check. Name that suggests more pastoral times? Check. Charismatic lead singer with a penchant for braces and a wonderfully mournful voice? Check. They may seem too good to be true, but having listened to their E.P. The Seventeenth Century (part 1) the truth is that they’re just too good.
Their playing is superb. The rhythm section in particular play as if they’re trying to channel Bonham and Jones, but it is singer and fiddler Mark Brendan Farmer that lifts The Seventeenth Century above many of the other bands that play this sort of music. His voice matches the songs perfectly, and suggests an old soul is lurking somewhere. If you like Admiral Fallow and/or Burnt Island then I would suggest you’ll feel the same way about this band. Here they are playing one of the tracks from (part 1), Young Francis, followed by the excellent Traffic, a song from 2009 which shows that The Seventeenth Century seemed to hit the ground running in terms of aesthetic and style:
Expect The Seventeenth Century (part 2) to arrive in April this year with a full album to follow later in the year. By that time I might have grown sick of (part 1). I might have. The band are playing The Captain’s Rest in Glasgow on Tuesday night, and I hope I’ll see you there. If you can’t make that then you can here them in session on Ally McCrae’s new Radio 1 Scotland show between 12 and 2am tomorrow night. Have a go, you might like it.
For more information go to theseventeenthcentury
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