Brad Fielder

Welcome To New Hoyle

Bigtone Records 0821

 

Welcome to Brad’s world! New Hoyle is less a physical entity than a state of being: “It exists wherever I am,” Brad says candidly and informatively (albeit cryptically) in his liner note, “and you will come to know that place when you listen to these recordings.”

Hoyle, according to Brad’s artist’s narrative, is “not a place lost to time”, but, it turns out, a former name for the tiny burg of Ames in north-west Oklahoma where Brad’s grandparents had made their home.

    Brad’s songwriting inclinations towards nostalgia have informed his ostensible placement squarely in that locality, whereas his musical idiom of choice is the template that comfortably straddles early ragtime, 12-bar barrelhouse blues, raggy hokum, cod-oriental and old-timey, as easy as breathing!

    The pervasive, aromatic swingalong chugging vibe of the album is infectious; it’s honest ol’ good-time backporch fun, with deliciously oddball lyrics and a quirky instrumental complement to back Brad.

    The thoroughly tasty supporting playing (including some cute, delicious – and admirably economic – incidental soloing) comes courtesy of a tight little trio ensemble of trusty cohorts comprising the Norman, Oklahoma, sousaphone maestro Charley Rivers(sic) and Kansas City duo the Matchsellers – aka Julie Bates (fiddle) and Andrew Morris (banjo, mandolin, guitar) – all crammed into a tiny Bristol, Virginia, studio belonging to Jon Atkinson of Bigtone Records.

    It was all recorded live direct to mono tape on “vintage audio gear from the golden age of radio”, and each take was the final mix. High on the home-grown immediacy scale, then!

    This unpretentious little record is virtually self-recommending to any fan of the genially oddball school. It’s been a real joy to listen to, and with its winning combination of gleeful down-home ambience, fun lyrics and natural, assured musicianship that doesn’t need to shout to proclaim its virtues, it has sure brightened up my week.

 

David Kidman

Folk London magazine

February-March 2022