The Making of You

Have you ever dreamed of what might have happened if Fairport Convention had left England to move to Laurel Canyon and sign with Elektra Records shortly after the release of 1969s What We Did on Our Holidays? If so, you owe it to yourself to listen to 2020s The Making of You, the second album from the Scottish folk-rock revivalists Snowgoose. That doesnt entirely sum up the formula of what Snowgoose are doing, but it certainly posits a scenario in which something similar could come to pass. At her best, lead vocalist Anna Sheard sounds like the risen ghost of Sandy Denny, with the same clarity and subtle emotional force, and though she doesnt sound as if shes trying to copy the late Fairport Convention singer, her instrument and the way she uses it makes her a true kindred spirit. Sheard wrote many of the songs on The Making of You, as did her musical partner, Jim McCulloch (formerly of the Soup Dragons and the BMX Bandits), and the material reflects the sweetly sad personality of Fairports early work, especially the harmonies that sometimes recall how Denny and Ian Matthews blended their voices. As strongly British as this album often sounds, the more than minor influence of American folk-rock of the late 60s and early 70s is visible, the gentle psychedelic and country accents shining through the cooler English surfaces (the harmonies on Who Will You Choose are straight out of Crosby, Stills & Nash). Snowgoose dont appear to be worried about listeners sussing out their sources of inspiration, probably because theyve not only absorbed them thoroughly, theyre created an album with a personality of its own, a creative hybrid that has a life of its own thanks to the gifts of the artists on hand. The Making of You is a marvel of skillful songwriting, savvy use of the studio, and talent that can find new magic in old voices, and its recommended for folk-rock enthusiasts past and present. ~ Mark Deming