Review: Rolling Green Hills by Raymond Revel

 

Raymond Revel is an American singer-songwriter who sits mainly within the indie-pop-folk triad that has had shifting periods of popularity since it's emergence as a second wave in the mid-late 2000s. It's also a style I was a big fan of for a couple of years, and my soft spot for it has never truly gone away. Mumford & Sons were the band who really kicked off the resurgence of this sound a little over a decade ago, being the most radio-friendly and commercially successful of all the artists to emerge during this period. They have also kept the sound somewhat in the public consciousness ever since. Many of the others that emerged have had vast critical acclaim, but eschewed the overt commercial success of Mumford & Sons. In the USA there was Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, both often too experimental and too dedicated to their creativity. In the UK we had Laura Marling and Lucy Rose who both continue to make startlingly beautiful music, but their emotional rawness was often too much for the radio to handle. Villagers looked for a while like they could be Ireland's answer to Bright Eyes but were too dark and solemn for many, and Noah & The Whale had massive song-writing chops but were a bit too eclectic and quirky.

So balance and originality are important in this style, and I can certainly see where Raymond Revel is aiming to find his music equilibrium. I can hear some influence from most of the previously mentioned artists, yet there is something almost intangible which makes his sound different. His singles prior to 'Rolling Green Hills' combine familiar pop-folk melodies with ethereal sound-scapes that give the songs a much broader scope and feel than one might expect. Tracks like 'End Of The World' and 'Ten Feet Tall' have a sweet pop tone to them, whilst 'New Beginnings' has a much more stripped back folk character to it. All of them are very atmospheric, and now 'Rolling Green Hills' has brought a new element to Raymond's sound. By using a plethora of Celtic instruments the track eludes heavily to the vast countryside of the Emerald Isle, although lyrically it is kept open as to exactly where these hills are located.

'Rolling Green Hills' is a fun and catchy tune that blends the Celtic instrumentation with Raymond's vocals and guitar in a way that feels authentic and genuine. So often this combination can come across as corny and hollow, but this track does a great job of avoiding that pitfall. The track constructs itself subtlety with each verse and chorus, building the layers and crafting the landscape that it calls out to extremely well. Raymond's voice is smooth and warm, but also has a delicate quality that reminds me of Fionn Regan, Ben Howard and even at times Damien Rice. The atmospheric background vocals give the track a real emotional slant too, and the first two thirds of the track are wonderful.

As the track head to it's conclusion Raymond kicks his vocals up into a higher register and his passion really starts to flow forth. He then leads into a short chorus of gang-vocals which unfortunately sound a little flat compared to the exuberance with which Raymond sings. It wasn't where I expected the track to go, and it wasn't the big pay-off of tension that the song had alluded to throughout. The song ends quite abruptly too, and I'm left feeling there is more that could have been developed from this track, another gear it could have pushed on to.

It's a shame that the song doesn't feel quite complete, but there is still much to enjoy about it. There is a credible quality to the track's use of Celtic instruments that doesn't feel forced or gimmicky, and it builds the atmosphere in a way that Raymond clearly has a strong understanding of. This track really fits well within Raymond's catalogue of songs, and I can see 'Rolling Green Hills' becoming a fan favourite amongst his listeners for many years.