Smoke Fairies – ‘Carried in Sound’ album review: brooding yet stagnant folk rock
The name Smoke Fairies couldn’t be more fitting for a band whose latest album, Carried in Sound, evokes a gloomy folkloric atmosphere. Blending a distinctively traditional folk sound with modern rock influences, the album is a moody yet hopeful collection of songs, perfect for the darkening winter evenings.
Having formed in the 1990s, Smoke Fairies (Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies) are no strangers to their craft, and their latest offering feels strikingly refined and self-assured. Each piano melody or dark, driving riff feels intricately crafted, weaving together to create one cohesive sound that spreads across the entire album. Smoke Fairies create a soundscape that is often haunting, although not in a macabre way.
You can imagine yourself stumbling upon the members in the woods or atop a shadowy hillside, singing their songs as the wind gently whispers. The band conjures images of rural landscapes steeped in mysticism and mythology, with many melodies feeling innately traditional, as if they’ve been passed down through generations and reworked by the duo for a modern audience.
Tracks like ‘Carried in Sound’ epitomise the record’s overcast sonic palette, with a brooding, repetitive guitar riff creating the backdrop for layered, ethereal vocals. ‘Sticks and Stones’ is another standout, building slowly before giving way to a sultry guitar section, made even more evocative by the mellow vocal melodies in the background.
Discussing the album’s creation, which was influenced by a limited recording space, Davies said: “Using what is around you makes a lot of sense when you’re telling really quite personal stories. The record has an inward-looking lens – it’s very reflective”. This self-reflection is echoed through the rich vocals that bring a distinctive level of intimacy. In fact, some of the vocal performances sound particularly angelic, such as in ‘Part Of It All’, giving the songs an almost devotional quality.
Thematically, the band touches on universal topics, yet they do so with great attentiveness and vulnerability. Blamire explained: “We had so much personal stuff going on – losing family members, for example. We wanted to explore themes of grief and loss in a way we hadn’t done previously. We tried to be very raw.” However, Davies asserts, “Although the album has themes of sadness on there, it’s looking at those things from a place of strength.”
There’s a sense of community woven into the album’s fabric, and the pair’s artistic and personal closeness is more than apparent through their warm harmonising. Still, that isn’t always enough to save some of the songs from succumbing to inertia. At times, it feels tiresome to sit through every track with the pace remaining, for the most part, relatively unchanged. However, that does not detract from the wholly singular sound that the band crafted with undeniable skill. There are many moments of sheer beauty, injected with a subtle grandiosity that grows with repeated listens.
While Carried in Sound isn’t perfect, it bleeds with an emotional and honest sensibility that is reflected in the deep strings, flowing vocal melodies and bending guitars. There’s no doubting the band’s ability to carve out an idiosyncratic sonic world, even if a little more instrumental variety would perhaps elevate their sound to greater heights.
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