CABLE MOUNT WARNING – THE MAPLE TRAIL

Like a premonition, the opening bars of Cable Mount Warning launch with a reverberating cellist’s drone,immediately establishing the introspective timbre of the album. The third solo album of Aidan Roberts from Belles Will Ring, Cable Mount Warning is the result of eighteen months of writing across New Zealand, New York and his Blue Mountains home. Robert’s even-tempered songwriting coupled with almost all acoustic instrumentation work to create a luxurious folk sound which drapes over every song in the album. Whilst most tracks are dreamy musical cushions featuring soft guitar, velvety vocals and that droning cello, a few puncture the reverie. The distorted guitar, buoyant tempo and soft mariachi brass of The Dinosaur Hunters showcases The Maple Trail’s gift for subtle layering. Likewise, Barking Dog and Swallow opens with a ringing percussive pattern beneath picking guitars, which eventually invite shimmering strings over Robert’s vocals. The Sailor’s Voice evokes the flurry of a village dance or sea song, where the soulful chords of Dead Moon offer up a slice of melancholia. Recorded in Robert’s home in local Stanmore, The Maple Trail delivers a successful contemporary-folk album, whose subtle acoustic layers beautifully complement and extend each other.

*** 1/2