by Phil Scarisbrick

On their second album, Tenci gives a vital, modern reminder of what folk music can be

The first Tenci album, My Heart Is An Open Field, was an open wound account of Jess Shoman’s expulsion of her painful past, and the vacuum that was left in its wake. It was a profound, engaging collection that saw the record become a cherished favourite. Their sophomore release, A Swollen River, A Well Overflowing, does a complete u-turn thematically, creating a vibrant collection that celebrates self-restoration and starting anew.

There are many genre-flourishes across the album, each melding together to become distinctively Tenci. It is essentially a folk record though, with its fable-like recitals of Shoman’s unfolding development as a person, and all that comes with that. The cyclical fingerpicked guitar of Be sits underneath a perverse, almost lullabilic vocal melody, before giving way to a dementedly fun sax solo that seemingly spirals out of space and time. Sharp Wheel is a highlight, with an Adrianne Lenker-evoking vocal that stunts and warps around its words as Shoman sings, ‘Scary clowns under my bed / You told me funny jokes instead / Knock knock on the best you’ve ever had / I can’t believe you is that sad’.

The six minutes of Sour Cherries is packed with visually-stimulating lyrics as it initially floats along, before the pace and sense of jeopardy ramp up. Shoman circling around the word ‘Cherry’ then pleading with a sense of gleeful menace ‘Rotten fruit, we love to eat it, eat it slow / Sweet poison, wrap your arms around me’. Two Cups is the clear single on the record, with its rhythmic stomp grabbing you instantly, before giving way to the closer, Memories. A sparse, skeletal guitar track that is joined the audio from an old family video. It lets us into their world one final time.

To the uninitiated, you might assume while listening that this is a traditional ‘band’ record, and feels in parts like a continuation of Shoman’s appearance on Friendship’s Love The Stranger. At its heart though is an artist who is pushing the very boundaries of what folk music can be, and her vital, modern take on the genre – complete with nods to an array of others – is a wonderful return for a special artist.