Offa Rex
"The Queen of Hearts"
(Nonesuch, (ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK){)
Offa Rex is a collaboration between British folk musician Olivia Chaney and the bookish American indie-rock band the Decemberists. With Chaney taking almost all the lead vocals, the explicit template comes from British folk-rock bands, circa 1970, such as Steeleye Span, Sandy Denny-era Fairport Convention, and Shirley Collins with the Albion Band. Chaney sings these canonical songs beautifully, in a clear, forceful, often melancholy soprano.
"Willie o'Winsbury" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" are sparse and direct, but "Sheepcrook and Black Dog" and "The Old Churchyard," are heavy and dramatic, with echoes of the Decemberists' prog-rock opus "The Hazards of Love." Throw in an instrumental jig or two, and "The Queen of Hearts" is deliberately anachronistic _ an echo of a style that itself was an echo of centuries'-old traditions. But it's a successful reenactment.
_Steve Klinge
