Trembling Bells: The Constant Pageant – review

Trembling Bells have moved on. Once hailed as heroes of the new psych-folk movement, the Glasgow-based four-piece edge towards the mainstream with an album that is confident, melodic and crammed with rousing folk-rock anthems with a quirky edge. There are no traditional songs here, but song-writer Alex Neilson says he "thinks of traditional folk music as being like my first serious girlfriend", and almost every track has the sturdy resonance of a great British folk ballad. There are reminders of his Yorkshire upbringing on Goathland, which sounds like a slowed-down English dance tune, and also on the pounding Otley Rock Oracle, which starts like a horror story from the Yorkshire Moors ("once I saw a seven-headed dog") and ends with a wailing guitar work-out. This is an album of strong songs and strong vocals; Lavinia Blackwall is soaring, operatic and bravely full-tilt. She eases from the stirring Where Do I Go from You? to the cool and medieval-influenced Colour of Night, the Americana of Cold Heart of Mine, and the poignant but still rousing New Year's Eve, The Loneliest Night of the Year. Magnificent.