Radie Peat, known for her work with the band Lankum, has released her extraordinary solo debut album, No Human Tongue Can Tell. The record opens without ornamentation, featuring only her stark, low voice accompanied by subtle instrumentation that includes Fender Rhodes piano, Mellotron, and Wurlitzer. Her approach on tracks like Hares on the Mountain, which utilizes a tune arranged by Shirley Collins for 1964's Folk Roots, New Routes, is described as consistently startling and profoundly moving.
The album collects songs centered on themes of female struggle, suffering, strength, and endurance. Peat notes in her liner notes that this thematic cohesion emerged after she limited her song choices based on her own mind, abilities, and personal preferences rather than aiming for epic statements. Instead, the record prioritizes a gut-deep connection with songs she has performed live for years, delivering many of them in new versions that pulse with urgency.
Peat transforms familiar material into haunting elegies; for instance, Willow Garden, previously performed by Lankum in 2017 with a major-key chorus, becomes a reverb-heavy track where her delivery of the lyric "poor little girl" buckles with sadness. She vividly paints scenes in Same Old Man against rolling guitar arpeggios and summons deep yearning in Still I Love Him, a song discovered by Irish singer John Francis Flynn about a woman emotionally bound to an abusive husband. Her interpretation of Dark Horse on the Wind, Liam Weldon's 1966 lament regarding the lost dream of the Irish republic, is set against a solid drone with lyrics depicting warriors maiming their own.
Produced by John "Spud" Murphy, the album highlights earthy and granular details, such as the sound of air being sucked through Peat's concertina bellows on Cailín Deas and the disruptive thwack of Eleanor Myler's drums. The result is a collection of traditional songs that feel fresh, brutal, and unforgettable. Alongside this release, other notable folk albums have arrived this month, including Bróna McVittie's Supernatural, Bird in the Belly's Only Dogs As Friends, and Guy Buttery's Improvisations from a Rural Church: Volume 1.
Sources: The Guardian Music.