‘not with me’ is music from the Deep South…Hampshire, UK, to be exact. But it is flavored with sounds recognizably from below the Mason- Dixon Line too, and the result is a reminder that many of the root sounds that American music is built on are the folk traditions of the Old World; in that respect, Sophia Casson-Smith’s latest single sounds like nothing short of a homecoming, the prodigal sonic son returned home changed but familiar, the best of both worlds.
George Mercers’ ragged and raw banjo dances over her acoustic guitar rhythms, almost a musical metaphor for the brutal majesty of the Appalachians converging on the bucolic beauty of the South Downs. It is also a song where the past and present meet – traditional bluegrass blends mixing with modern indie-folk.
If the music is a blend of the timely and the timeless, the lyrical theme is equally so: Casson-Smith’s voice, suitably pure, perfectly vulnerable, beguilingly authentic, reminding us that the pain and hurt that we go through at the hands of others is never our fault, that we need to stop shouldering the burden of responsibility for their actions of others and be brave enough to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the perpertrator.
A gorgeous and delicate song, but such a poignant message- isn’t that what roots music does best?
Facebook
Spotify
Soundcloud
Instagram
