Alan Dearling shares some thoughts and images
In advance, Dark Matter Promotions told us:
“We look forward to hearing the dulcet tones of the brilliant psych folk songbird Lavinia Blackwall performing with her full band, Stilton. Plus the hugely talented Alex Rex will be opening with a solo set playing songs from his fourth and final album. A perfect show for the changing of the seasons, full of heartfelt emotion and ethereal beauty.”
Last evening I joined in with the merry throng of folk attending the double-header show of Alex Rex and Lavinia Blackwall (with some of her band, Stilton). Alex when he performed as Alex Neilson, wrote many of the songs which Lavinia sang with him in the much loved, Trembling Bells. They were something of a musical institutiion, especially around Glasgow and across Scotland. So here are a few images from the Dark Matter Promotions’ show at the Golden Lion in Todmorden. As Alex Rex proclaims from inside his skeleton costume, he and his songs are all about ‘love, loss and self-loathing’. They cetainly verge into the visceral, packing the whip of humiliation and degradation. Disturbing and unsettling.
The words of the songs sung by Alex Rex are wonderfully bizarre. Dark, obsessive, self-deprecating to an extraordinary degree, he told us he was, “A middle-aged man with an alcohol problem.” Apparently his new song, ‘Yours sincerely Alex Neilson’ is even more of a confessional. Likewise, ‘Song of Songs’ and ‘Isle of Man’. Almost unbearably paranoid. He is unusual in the extent that he shares the intensity and insanity of his darkest thoughts and actions. “Trading blow jobs for beer”…”deleting all the photos on your effing phone.” “There’s a ghost in my house. He’s telling me to kill!” He concluded his set saying: “I’m sorry that I made you suffer for my art!” Compelling stuff!
‘Psychic Rome’: https://youtu.be/nv0dpOIFOeU
And solo guitar: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1227430211905860
Lavinia, and her music with Stilton, is fluffy by comparison. Her current album, ‘The Making’ is indeed making waves in the psych-folk scene. It’s located in the territory created by the likes of early Fairport Convention, of outfits like Trees, Forest, Dr Strangely Strange and the less edgy side of Incredible String Band (ISB)… Lavinia is a classically trained soprano vocalist and I saw her a couple of times with Trembling Bells, who were very much influenced and styled as a quirky, psychedelic-folk outfit on similar lines to ISB. Indeed, on occasions Mike Heron performed with them. Over the course of seven albums with that band, she honed her signature vocal style – often compared to Fairport Convention’s Sandy Denny – and collaborated with legends such as Bonnie Prince Billy. Now she has established a new musical journey. ‘The Making’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGM-Dim6wrk
Her work with Stilton is very folksy, with just a little off-kilter edginess. And, her latest album, ‘The Making’ is getting well reviewed and received both by the public and the reviewers. Here are some comments on-line, which reflect what we witnessed at the live gig. On the album, the Stilton line-up is: Lavinia Blackwall – vocals, piano, organ & autoharp; Marco Rea – guitars, bouzouki, mandolin, vocals, organ & piano; Jim McGoldrick – bass guitar; Seb Jonsen – drums & percussion.
Bernhard Andrés: Great great great… Favourite track: The Damage We Have Done.
Steve Malpass: The voice, harmonies, production, arrangements are all superb. But it’s the quality of the songs and exquisite melodies that bind it all together. From the minor/major folk pop of Keep Me Away From The Dark, through the stellar singles, the album somehow goes up a gear for the last three songs. And when proggy epic, Sisters In Line, finally slows, leaving Lavinia’s voice wordless and celestial I realise I can’t recall many albums that reach their zenith in the last few minutes as this one does. Favourite track: Sisters In Line.
Steve Hook: Fabulous lp! Lavinia’s singing is awesome and right up front in the mix where it should be. The songs are all really varied but still recognisably in the folk-rock vein. Lp of the year! Favourite track: The Art Of Leaving.
Jay Hall: Musically, vocally, lyrically, and emotionally this is my favourite album of 2025. Hearing it again and again, I’m visiting an old friend who always has something new and vital to say. Between the notes and the words and the voice within the songs is an energy I love tapping into and in which I always discover something new and exciting. Favourite track: The Damage We Have Done.
