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Sunday - there's something so simple about the seventh day. En mass, it's about all the little things: lie-ins, reading the papers, lawn mowing, roast dinners, snoozing in front of the TV - the calm before the Monday storm. And it's exactly these gentle, unobtrusive moments folk singer/songwriter Will Cookson has managed to bottle in his debut album.
Songs For A Sunday, recorded between December '06 and June '07, is a very British affair. The tracks brim with English imagery: birds (those mentioned include robins, magpies, skylarks and rooks) fly over churchyards, wood smoke rises from the chimneys, the kettle whistles, and, over a mud field, a steeplechase occurs. With every song, it's as if the listener's been transported into a John Constable painting.
Each song feels like a lullaby. (The most conventional being Bedtime Charm - a soothing song about a toddler's night, with a "mobile spinning from the ceiling", a "scary clothes heap" and monsters under the bed). In fact, Cookson refers to childhood memories in several songs. Ferris Wheel recalls a magical long-gone summer. Whereas, inConsolidation No. 2 (Magpie Pie) Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor are mentioned.
Everything about Songs For A Sunday screams simplicity. The album sleeve is a rudimentary, almost child-like drawing; the lyrics beautiful and easy to understand; the music unassuming, with (predominantly) 'paint by number' major-chord folk melodies. There's no arrogance, only modest honesty.
An acoustic guitar also adds to the album's organic nature. Only on occasional songs do additional instruments join in, such as a harmonica on Consolidation No. 1 and tingly bells - like magic - on Bedtime Charm. An accomplished guitarist and a dextrous fingerpicker, Cookson's almost sole use of an acoustic guitar makes Songs On A Sunday feel like a very private affair. The album is so intimate, it's as though Cookson's sitting on the end of your bed, lulling you to sleep.
Cookson's voice is raspy, yet fragile and emotional, somewhere between Jack White's and Bob Dylan's. In fact, the later is an obvious influence: hell, isn't the music titan an inspiration to most? On Stormy Ol' Weather, Cookson even quotes "The times they are a-changing".
However, Cookson actually sounds more like Nick Drake than Dylan. There's a similar emotion and magic as evoked by the crestfallen master. And, whereas Drake's music was often described as autumnal, Cookson's can be characterised as Sunday-istic - though on the whole Cookson's lyrics are far more optimistic.
Cookson's debut won't be to every folk enthusiast's taste. Its simplicity might be deemed drab, its songs merging into one. But if you want to escape stress, the city and/or life, make yourself a cup of tea and let Cookson's beautifully evoked peaceful English countryside scenes wash over you.
Simple and effortless, Songs For A Sunday is a treasure.
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