Review: Lorraine Leckie & Pavel Cingl - The Raven Smiled

In my hardcore punk days, some thirty years ago, I hated folk music...I mean I REALLY hated folk, but then what did I know. I thought it was all about men wearing arran sweaters with a finger in one ear singing about sweet maidens or their latest fishing trip, and I didn't give any credence to music that wasn't played at a hundred miles an hour and dripping in vitriol. Thankfully as we grow older our minds become more open and tastes broaden and now I really dig a lot of folk, especially of the freak, psych or noir variety...which is just as well as otherwise I would have missed out on this mesmerising album from Lorraine Leckie and Pavel Cingl. Leckie is a former make-up artist to the stars who plys her musical trade playing acoustic solo material or fuzzed out psyche rock with her band The Demons. Acclaimed Prague-based violinist Pavel Cingl joined Leckie for this live recording during her European tour last year and 'The Raven Smiled' is a document of their meeting.

Album opener, 'The Man That Walks in the Rain' is a stark but beautiful manner in which to set things going, Leckie's acoustic guitar and Cingl's violin providing a simple backdrop for Leckie's unique voice. The song itself has the structure and atmosphere of a Nick Cave composition, that same implied darkness and foreboding. 'Climb Ya Like a Mountain' is a musical homage to Aleister Crowley, “One of the foremost mountain climbers in the world in his time,” Leckie explains. “He practiced magic, but at the same time he was a clown and a buffoon. I think he’d appreciate this.”. The violin has a melancholic timbre, sounding almost plaintive at times and adding a distinct vibe to proceedings and Leckie's vocals reminiscent of Holly Golightly if she had gone down the folk route instead of garage punk. Throughout the album Leckie's songwriting is enigmatic and full of metaphors and allegory, and in 'Dangerous Friends' it has a Siouxsie and the Banshees feel about them, the same lyrical structure of,say, 'Playground Twist'. 'The Story of Your Life' sees Leckie swapping guitar for piano for this track about Leckie's own experience in Prague, of connecting with and talking to people about life in the Czech Republic under communism. It has a sadness about it, reflecting the hardship of life prior to the Velvet revolution. 'Awake' is a low key number with Cingl's violin adding a poignancy, a truly beautiful track which has, what seems like, an autobiographical feel about it. The tempo shifts up a gear with 'That Ain’t Nice', “A kind of kinky S&M song"as Leckie explains it. It has a sonic dissonance, with a more abstract structure; Cingl's violin glissandos and Leckie's furious acoustic guitar giving it a real edge and sense of danger. 'Witches Heart', compared in the press release to "70s Marianne Faithfull with tinges of 80s goth" and I can't really think of a more apposite description! 'Medicine Man' has a sun-baked feel about it, the music is stark with violin musically describing an arid far-west landscape and Leckie's impassioned vocals almost shamanistic. The album closes with title track 'The Raven Smiled', a comparatively upbeat number with a melody reminiscent of a child's nursery rhyme and leaves the listener on an optimistic note.

I found 'The Raven Smiled' an utterly bewitching album; simple but strong melodies, intelligent lyrics and instrumentation that is stark at times but always breathtaking . The interplay between Leckie's guitar/vocals and Cingl's violin is nothing short of magical, between them they weave sound and images that leaves the listener in a noirish reverie (must also make mention of Lisa Zwier who provides some lovely vocal harmonies). Leckie is a unique talent and, despite all the comparisons that can be made to Cave, Nico etc, she is out there on her own....it wont be long before people are comparing artists to her. A beautiful, transcendental listen. 'The Raven Smiled' can be streamed and purchased via the Lorraine Leckie Bandcamp page (and a word to the wise, while you're there, check out the other material on the site...well worth the time!)