IS Blackbeard’s Tea Party's new EP track Leviathan! the world’s first folk party record about the glories and tragedies of whaling?
Hear the song, composed by vocalist and melodeon player Stuart Giddens, when the York folk-rockers launch the five-track EP at a home-city gig at The Crescent, in The Crescent, on Friday night.
Title track Leviathan! will be joined by two trad songs, the opening The Diamond and the finale, Werry Whaling Ground, along with two compositions by djembe and congas player Dave Boston and fiddler and cellist Laura Barber, DLFN and The Lost Triangle.
On this record, released through Proper Music, Blackbeard's Tea Party dramatise a whaling industry that once funnelled significant funds to British ports such as Hull, Whitby and Peterhead but would eventually bring many whale species to the brink of extinction.
Across the five tracks, they depict the industry’s promises of profit and glory; the power and might of whales; the adrenaline of the hunt and the tragic bloody realities of a whaler’s life at sea.
The artwork for Blackbeard's Tea Party's new EP, Leviathan!
Throughout, the York band plough their own distinctive furrow of arresting folk rock, a sound that is bigger than ever as they move away from hand percussion on their first recordings since 2015's Reprobates, their fourth album. Instead, the interlocking rhythms are now provided by two drum kits, a choice that adds power and accentuates their rockier edge.
Blackbeard's Tea Party will be touring in April, May, June, August and October in a typically busy 2018. After York, look out for further Yorkshire gigs at The Lantern, Halifax, on April 21, Greystones, Sheffield, on May 20, and Musicport Festival, Whitby Pavilion, on October 19. Should you fancy seeing them overseas, head to the Costa Del Folk Festival, Portugal, on October 13 and 14.
Giddens, Boston and Barber are joined in the line-up by Tim Yates, on bass, melodeon, trombone and sousaphone; Martin Coumbe, electric and acoustic guitar, and Liam "Yom" Hardy, cajon, drums, tambourine and miniature cymbal.
Tickets for Friday are on sale at £6 via blackbeardsteaparty.com/gigs or £8 on the door from 7.30pm.
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