Album Review: Sam Amidon - Bright Sunny South

Just when you thought it wasn't possible for another contemporary folk artist to come along and add anything to the canon, Amidon does just that. Bright Sunny South breathes life into some traditional folk fodder and comes up with some new takes on some strange choices of songs. Like his partner Beth Orton, he brings some imaginative rhythms to these folk tunes and makes the old seem new again.

Amidon's voice sits somewhere between the likes of Nick Drake and Richard Thompson. I Wish I Wish sounds like it could have come off Drake's Bryter Later album. The wispy gentle nature of the instrumentation allows him to sing behind the beat and let the song do the work. It's only on My Old Friend that we get to hear the musicians kick into top gear and starts rollicking in a true folk tradition. Amidon straps on a banjo and turns As I Roved Out on its head with just a drummer accompanying him with a funky broken beat.

There is a strange take on Mariah Carey's Shake It Off which is one of the weaker moments on the album, the track nowhere near as potent as the traditional Irish tale Streets of Derry which he nails with a simple version on the song. The homage to his parents who were masters on the folk scene at the end of the album is a wonderful way to end a tasteful outing. Weeping Mary was also recorded by them and no doubt this version would make them proud.