a very interesting and wonderful album, with many extremely aesthetic moments that linger with one well after the music has finished.
BUNGAROOSH by Milton Hide.
Review in ingénu/e magazine – south downs and high weald: issue 48
Milton Hide are Jim Tipler and Jo Church from East Sussex, who write original songs, mostly with an acoustic, folky base, but not always.
Building on Jim’s experience of many years playing in folk and roots bands, they joined forces as Milton Hide in 2016. Released in April this year Bungaroosh is their third studio album.
There is a marvellous mix of styles on this album, with the duo aided by Multi-instrumentalist John Fowler and Phil Jones on double bass, Fred Gregory on Mandolin and Bruce Knapp on electric guitar.
The songs vary from acoustic folk to folk rock, ragtime, Americana and out and out rock. Lyrically there are poetic stories about loss, love and new beginnings, with satirical political and social comment not far behind.
Some highlights for me were:
Festival of Freaks, a rag time romp with a nod to 195os vocals, a great guitar solo and a message to be yourself, despite all.
Judge and Executioner is a flat out rock attack on the media, while in contrast..
Small Boats is a beautifully crafted gorgeous ballad about leaving a harsh world behind to find new hope.
On Goldfinch Jo gets her oboe [clarinet] out and the title track Bun-garoosh is straight-up folk rock reminiscent of all those fine 196os/ early 7os bands, with satirical lyrics on life and truth versus lies.
Quicksand Calling has beautiful acoustic guitar and gentle melody, and emotionally highlights the catastrophe of Chinese immigrants being drowned in 2004 by an incoming tide at Morecambe Bay while harvesting cockles.
Old Tom’s Story has banjo and an Americana feel, and references the remarkable story of Te-Lah-Nay, a teenage girl from the Euchee tribe, and Tom Hendrix’s monument to her, the largest un-mortared rock wall in the US and the largest memorial to a Native American woman.
Te-La-Nay means Woman with the Dancing Eyes in the Yuchi language. In 1839 she was part of the forced removal of the Yuchi people from Alabama to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma, but she chose to walk back the 6o0 miles to her beloved Tennessee River, her ‘singing river’. Her story is a testament to resilience and the enduring connection to one’s ancestral home.
It’s a haunting story and at this point while listening to the album, I had to stop and take a breath, admiring just how much care the duo give to their music and the research and quality of their lyrics.
Voodoo Queen really rocks along and The Wonder nudges one to experience a wonderful life and has some fabulous guitar work and chords, complimenting some stunning vocals.
Available in CD or download Bungaroosh is
Visit www.miltonhide.com
for all info about the band.
Photos of Milton Hide by top: Alex Thomas; left: Roy Cano
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