Pete’s Trees reviewed in Shire Folk

Some tunes trace the emotional bonding between the musicians themselves; the opening track, ‘Let me Down Gently’, is foreboding, but resolves into a happy ending waltz. Fortunately, they avoid self-indulgence; the next tune is an upbeat treatment of the traditional ‘Northern Lass’. Although traditional tunes are sparse, room is made for composers such as Pete Cooper and Emma Peters. Mind you, without reading the notes one could swear that Hooper’s ‘McNaughton’s March’ was indeed traditional, such is its closeness to the idiom. Perhaps intentionally, ‘Pete’s Trees’ is a centrepiece of the album, demonstrating the inspiration Judith derived from the English Acoustic Collective Summer School over several years. I’ve alluded to this before on these pages; the event has so profoundly influenced many of our contemporary folk composers. The album’s combined sound is greater than the sum of its parts. In places it’s an engaging dialogue between set tunes and extemporisation. So – sit back and enjoy a thoughtful, beautifully played set that deserves to be frequently revisited.”