The folk world is a hard one to pin down these days. Fifty years ago everyone had a clear image in their mind when mentioning that genre; currently, it’s not so easy. However, I feel this is actually a positive development in the music world, it means that folk is a living/breathing tradition that evolves and changes as time progresses. Enter Lily Lambert with her newest release “moving on” – a series of songs dealing with loss and acceptance (topically, that is, there is a lot more to the songs and the music than just overcoming grief).
One of the standout tracks, “I Forgive you” is thematically very familiar, but there is a uniqueness and raw quality to Lambert’s voice which honors the folk tradition, especially that of Shirley Collins, brilliantly. While Lambert’s singing is no doubt beautiful, it (thankfully) lacks to cold/pristine sheen heard in so many digital recordings out in the market. The song starts out simply with gentle piano chords and a simple declarative melody, towards the end though, it builds to a truly wonderful climax which seems to parallel, to some degree, the evolution of folk music itself. In this respect Lily Lambert’s “Moving On” seems to be not only a personal journey but an ode to the genre she obviously loves so much.
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