The Sheffield Scenester

Along with alternative / experimental band, The Legend of the 7 Black Tentacles, Ben Eckersley has been working on his new project, Captives on the Carousel, who are a new and upcoming folk / acoustic duo from Sheffield. Their new self-titled EP was released last month and it is quite different from 7BT as is comprises dark folk and relatively mysterious lyrics.

The EP begins with “The Oak Tree” which really surprised me because, to be honest, The Legend of the 7 Black Tentacles’ style of music is not something I would normally listen to. The Captives on the Carousel, on the other hand is right up my street. This track starts off with a mysterious cello sound, which gripped me straight away and then Sarah Morrey’s (also from 7BT) vocals, which are quite dark and sexy, took over and fused with the gentle acoustic guitar, made for a brilliant, atmospheric song. The dark folk sound throughout the track reminded me of the song on the opening titles of BBC TV drama, The Shadow Line and bands like The Chanteuse and the Crippled Claw’s style.

Next up is “Lead Me Down” and this is also another dark folk track. It begins with a strong cello melody and gives an element of mystery, conjuring up ideas of ghosts and dark gardens at midnight… I like the way that this song tells a story and keeps you gripped until the very end. You cannot help but prick your ears up and listen. I really like Sarah’s voice on this track as well and I can see that she is very talented. Another brilliant song from the Sheffield duo!

“The Bell Jar” is next up and begins with a gentle acoustic guitar riff. Sarah’s vocals mirror this and sound really soft and peaceful. I can’t help but think that this draws some distinction between the Sylvia Plath poem, also called “The bell Jar”. I don’t know if it was intended to be based on this, but the lyrics suggest ideas of being separate from something you really want so it kind of fits. Again, I really like this song, especially the vocals.

“Russian Doll” is the next track and it begins like a fairy-tale with the once upon a time idea. We learn, as the track goes on, that it does have a fairy-tale feel, with the description of a damsel in distress, reminding me, a little bit, of the Emilie Autumn track “Shallot” and the idea of her doing everything she can to find her true love, even running through the snow to a cursed house where he is found. I like the way this track tells a story and the cello sound mirrors this and leads the story along as it is calm for all the cheerful parts and speeds up the pace for the dramatic parts.

The final track is “James’ Song” which starts off calmly with the acoustic guitar and the soothing cello sounds. It is quite hypnotising and very clever. It is relatively slow to start, but speeds up towards the end and reminds us all that there is more to life than we have time for, so we should go out there and enjoy everything we possibly can.

Words by Shirley Bell