Memory Band reviewed
The Memory Band
Apron Strings
(DiChristina)
English folkie Stephen Cracknell envisions folk supergroup; adheres to Brit folk tradition.
In fact, it’s when Cracknell drops the Fairport-isms on Apron Strings that he sounds most invigorated. “Want To Know You” melds the swirling strings of The Afghan Whigs’ “Brother Woodrow” with the yearning arms of The Frames, while the lurching “Evil” sounds like The National dusting off their boots and leaving the Catholic drama on the truckstop floor. Closing with Ronnie Lane’s “The Poacher,” Cracknell takes a more activist approach, musically, to The Memory Band’s proper folk, galloping through the hills in a fitting tribute. But up until these, Apron Strings is rather homey and unremarkable, all paean and no panache.
— Steve Forstneger
