Carthy, Hardy, Farrell and Young

Not so much a band as a compendium of individual musicians, the quartet of Bella Hardy, Eliza Carthy, Lucy Farrell and Kate Young married voices and bows in a spectrum of regional and personal styles. Rather than picking a set of songs that represented them as a group, they worked in the round, with each musician taking the lead in a song of her choosing and the others layering vocal harmonies and fiddle arrangements over it. Each seemed better than the last, culminating in the stunning gospel number ‘Better Home’. There were a few flaws due to weather-related delays leaving no time to soundcheck, and a little too much bass drum, but the performance showed that the sum may be even better than the individual parts.

Ropetackle Centre, 14 February 2014

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