The duo of Doug Hammond and his daughter Tatiana (Angel) have unrolled another folk-rock masterpiece with this sophomore effort. Yet, folk rock is too simple a label to describe the wide range of styles evidenced here. “Plague Song”, “Women from Walkern”, and “Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenter” follow the standard formula, which means a richly imagined tapestry of sound that is influenced by 60s British folk rock stalwarts, Fairport Convention. But Tatiana does Sandy Denny one better, with the crystalline beauty of her voice. I don’t say that lightly as Sandy is quite possibly my favorite vocalist ever, so well done, Angel! Turning up the juice a bit on the kickin’ “The Remnant (the old familiar)”, Doug should be playing right alongside another favorite of mine, Richard Thompson.
And just how many instruments does Doug play? Just about everything, right down to the very real sounding programmed strings. Witness the marvelous chamber pop of the title track “Beaus and Arrows” to see what I mean. “Time to Make Up For” is drastically different from the band’s other work, evoking mustache twirling, music hall ditties from The Kinks or Mamas and Papas. Its suggestive lyrics are a lot of fun, and Tatiana provides the perfect sultry come on with her sweet voice. And “In Between Girl” brings me right back to the swinging 60s, and in a perfect world would be a hit.
The band has evolved quite a bit from their first album, and I look forward to hearing future projects from this talented group of musicians.
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