THE NEW ALBUM IS HERE!!
The day has finally arrived and ‘As the Crow Flies’ has been released on CD and Digital formats. Check out the press release below…
And to purchase a copy click HERE
AS THE CROW FLIES
The New Album from
LOVERIDGE
More commonly seen belting out shanties with his Fisherman’s Friends colleagues, Toby Lobb found himself in an unprecedented situation (along with many other performers) when COVID-19 put paid to the singing group being able to perform together.
With his day-job as a film-maker drying up and no audiences to perform to, Toby found himself pottering in his home office looking for any excuse to get creative and avoid having to chip in with the Home Schooling! He quickly decided to revisit some of his original songs that had laid dormant since joining Fisherman’s Friends. He returned to the moniker of ‘Loveridge’ (his middle name) and decided that it was time for him to finally commit a few of his folk-infused songs to CD (as well as the binary 0s and 1s of digital streaming).
The home office became ‘The Isolation Office’, a place where he would not only put out a collection of social media video performances but also start the process of recording a 10 track album. The 6’x7’ floor space was cramped so, when restrictions eased, Toby headed into a studio space with Producer Giles Woolley (his co-producer on Fisherman’s Friends album ‘Sole Mates) to breathe more life, and space, into each track.
Dusting off his rolodex, Toby called in favours from some of his musical friends in order to put the finishing touches and missing elements into place. Bristol-based shanty 4-piece ‘The Longest Johns’ deliver an enthusiastic and harmonious vocal performance in “The Doom Bar” (the tale of a vengeful Cornish mermaid) and Fisherman’s Friends bandmate Jon Cleave’s rich vocal basslines can be heard filling out the opening track “The Safety of Home”.
Elsewhere, the multi-talented Phil Beer from ‘Show of Hands’ brings his string-based magic to ‘Cornish Heart’ and Will You Go adding layers of drama and emotion to each track.
There are also some fantastic whistle tracks added throughout the album by Cornish-based talent Emma Murfin.
There’s a song for every mood on the album, from the enthusiastic, contemporary opener “The Safety of Home” and the upbeat reimagining of classic shanties into “Rollin’ Down the River Camel” and “Blow Ye Pressing Winds” to the acoustic laments of Cornish life (both past and present) as told by “Cornish Heart” and “Will You Go” and everything in between.
Whilst deeply engrained with folk inspiration, Toby has deviated from the traditional presentation that fans of Fisherman’s Friends are familiar with and given it a ‘Loveridge spin’. “The Doom Bar” weaves a tale of a mermaid being murdered with a very traditional Celtic feel, but amongst the whistles, accordions and hearty vocals lie subtle layers of synths, drones, processed beats and effects. There are ballads and Cornish pub-style sing-alongs added in to the mix, all capped off with the final song, a traditional and emotive interpretation of the classic leaving song “The Parting Glass”.
At its heart, “As the Crow Flies” is an honest collection of songs that look at Loveridge’s Cornish Life and the history and heartbeat of the duchy. Its mix of contemporary and traditional presentation will allow it to sit happily in your CD collection next to a wide range of artists.
Be sure to enjoy the album, it took a pandemic to kick start Loveridge into producing a solo album and with Fisherman’s Friends duties resuming full-time in 2021 it may be a few years until a follow up takes shape!!
TRACKLIST
01 - The Safety of Home
02 - Cornish Heart
03 - Rollin’ Down the River Camel
04 - She Will Wait
05 - The Sacred Shore
06 - The Doom Bar (ft The Longest Johns)
07 - Death of a Padstow Boy
08 - Will You Go
09 - Blow Ye Pressing Winds
10 - The Parting Glass
© 2020, Toby Loveridge Lobb