M G Boulter – Days of Shaking (Hudson Records, 2024)
M G Boulter, a prominent Essex singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, continues to solidify his reputation as one of the UK’s leading voices with his latest album, Days of Shaking. Building on the suburban realism of his previous work, Clifftown, which paid homage to his hometown of Southend-on-Sea, this new album delves deeper into the complexities of modern suburban life.
Stylistically, Days of Shaking contains evocative Americana influences, spellbinding cinematic ambience, as well as exquisite chamber folk topped by one of the most beautiful male voices in the current British folk scene. In Days of Shaking, Boulter explores the often-overlooked dramas of everyday existence, capturing the tension between unfulfilled desires and the mundane realities of daily life. Beneath these narratives lies a world imbued with rumor, mystery, urban legends, and the magical thinking that shapes human expectations and hopes. The album is filled with allusions to UFO sightings, mythical cave gods, and dream visitations from the dead, all of which enrich the texture of the songs while underscoring a fundamental belief in hope.
The album’s title track exemplifies this combination of the extraordinary and the ordinary, as the protagonist’s musings about a potential UFO sighting culminate in a more grounded desire for social connection: “Where is the party tonight? / To stand by a tiki bar with Christmas lights / I want something I can’t find / We drive around dark tenements searching.” Similarly, the song “City Map” juxtaposes images of heroic fishing photos with deeper existential yearnings: “Is it true you can wake up somewhere new / Just shrug it off and transform?”
Boulter’s reputation as a musician’s musician is well-established, with his extensive collaborations in the folk and Americana scenes, including stints with the Simone Felice Group, The Duke and the King, and Jon Boden’s Remnant Kings, among others. Days of Shaking is Boulter’s fourth full-length album, reaffirming his status as a significant contemporary voice in the singer-songwriter tradition. The album serves both as a social commentary on current times and an exploration of the human capacity for dreaming and hoping.
Produced by long-time collaborator Andy Bell, the album features contributions from Hudson Records artists such as Lucy Farrell, Harriet Bradshaw, Neil McSweeney, Helen Bell, and Tom Lenthall. The majority of the recording took place at Red Kite Studios in Wales, bringing together a talented ensemble to create a richly layered musical experience.
M G Boulter on vocals, guitars, pedal and lap steel guitar, percussion; Harriet Bradshaw on vocals, cello, percussion; Lucy Farrell on vocals, saw, percussion; Neil McSweeney on guitars, bass, vocals; Tom Lenthall on piano; Helen Bell on violin, viola; and Jenny Sturgeon on vocals, keyboards on “Talk to Me of Water.”
Buy Days of Shaking.
Author: Ryan Emmert
