Comes in an all-cardboard 2-fold wallet, with full-colour booklet containing:
- notes on all album tracks
- band photos
- more pictures from the chimney demolition featured on the front cover of 'Tall Tales'
Includes unlimited streaming of Tall Tales
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
"A song cycle in eight parts, "Coldwell Clough" follows a day-long hike from Castleton to Hayfield, landmark by landmark (and myth by myth) over Kinder Scout - the heart of the Dark Peak, in the Peak District. Each part explores a different aspect of the link between creativity and death, and how these are informed by our beliefs about our own identity. At its heart is one question - how does where we're from shape our sense of who we are?
Coldwell Clough itself is a steep valley on the west face of Kinder, just up the road from where I grew up. I walked the dogs there most days, and used to spend hours sitting at the head of the valley watching life move slowly on in the village of Hayfield below. For a small village, Hayfield has a truly impressive number of ancient ghost stories - from the Boggart of Highgate Hall to the Hayfield Witch - and the lyrics are steeped in local folklore, but Coldwell Clough also has an important place in more recent history.
In 1932, hundreds of ramblers defied landowners, gamekeepers and police by hiking over Kinder in what became known as the Mass Trespass. This act of civil disobedience ultimately helped establish the right to roam across open land in England & Wales, and is celebrated by participant Ewan MacColl in his famous song "The Manchester Rambler". I was raised on stories of the Mass Trespass, of people taking to the moors for their belief that we all have a right to the wilderness. Coldwell Clough itself was part of their route, and "Coldwell Clough" is also a tribute to their courage."
lyrics
Coldwell Clough I: A River Nearby
I never get lost with a river nearby
I just follow the water, learned to keep my feet dry
There are sudden meanders, there are oxbow lakes
But I feel for the current, go wherever it takes
I was six years old, high up on the moor
My first time dowsing, feet tired and sore
Hours since I saw them, since I heard their cries
Alone on Kinder, trapped under the sky
Was it me, or the willow? Pulling for water or home?
I can barely remember, lost between the heather and the loam
The hillside beating with every step I took
I listened for the water as the mountain shook
The things I saw, the treasures I found
I hold every colour, I dream every sound
They pull me back to them secretly
A divining rod for who I used to be
Is it me, or the willow? Pulling for water, or home?
I can barely remember the heather and the loam
The hillside beats with every step I take
There's a sudden meander, there's an oxbow lake
So I never get lost with a river nearby
I feel for the current, and I keep my feet dry
There are sudden meanders, there may be oxbow lakes
But I listen for the water
Listen for the water
= = = = =
Coldwell Clough II: Halfway Down The Coffin Trail
Halfway down the Coffin Trail
Nine more miles to go
The fog crept in while we looked up
And stole the world below
We've been climbing on since dawn
And each step pulls us back
Halfway down the Coffin Trail
Halfway down the Coffin Trail
Full five fathoms left
Til we reach the top of old Mam Tor
Bedraggled and bereft
No low church bell to knell us home
Or raise us up again
Halfway down the Coffin Trail
Three score years and ten
= = = = =
Coldwell Clough III: Mam Tor
They used to bring the dead
Up this track by Hollins Cross to Hope,
Four strong backs, and a box of lead -
Til the road came through, that lashing cotton rope
Who am I to walk in their steps?
My burdens and my sadness are mundane
And Mam Tor shivers like she is afraid
Of an idea both sacred and profane
She shrugged off the road like yesterday's shroud
And cast it aside on the valley floor below;
So they carry their dead up the roof o' the world
And I turn off their trail and climb on alone
Up Jacob's Ladder, past Edale Cross, to the Mermaid's Pool
= = = = =
Coldwell Clough IV: Easter Eve At The Mermaid's Pool
We got up here just at noon
Watched the sun laze across the sky
Chasing myth across the moors,
Chasing our tails, and any grand old lie
Oh it's tempting, I agree -
Every river meets the sea;
But who would want to sit forever,
A stagnant pond clogged with reeds?
= = = = =
Coldwell Clough V: Kinder Downfall (Instrumental)
= = = = =
Coldwell Clough VI: Bleaklow Stones Part I
Come, take me home
To Coldwell Clough and the Bleaklow Stones
We'll watch the lights in the valley below
As the night pulls down and near
Lie and listen to the wind
As we nurse hot tea to warm our sins
The world drawing in
Til there's nobbut us here
A star above the trees
The fire in the grate that waits at home
The candlelight dancing in your eyes…
= = = = =
Coldwell Clough VII: Mass Trespass Part II (Instrumental)
= = = = =
Coldwell Clough VIII: Bleaklow Stones Part II
Come, take me home
To Coldwell Clough and the Bleaklow Stones
In my heart I never left, and I never felt more alone
Some day I'll return
To lay my head and rest my bones
In Coldwell Clough and the Bleaklow Stones.
A core part of the scene built around boutique label Folkroom Records, London-based alternative folk seven-piece Ringlefinch
have been described as "Like Bellowhead before them... just one appearance on ‘Later With’ away from becoming nationwide favourites".
They release debut album 'Tall Tales' on Folkroom Records on 25th June 2021....more
Absolutely the cutting edge of traditional music in the British Isles, what Ben Walker has done with this album is nothing short of revolutionary. Beautiful, mesmerising, and utterly worth your time. Ringlefinch
Thom Ashworth plays folk like you've never heard before. With melodic bass guitar parts backing up searingly authentic vocals, his alt take on trad is at its finest here. Start with "Poverty Knock"! Ringlefinch
Powerful urban trad folk with a punk snarl, 'Follow Them True' is one of the most exciting albums to come out of UK folk in a long while. There's genuine outrage here, with deep respect for the music. Ringlefinch
supported by 6 fans who also own “Coldwell Clough”
this is one of the most beautiful collections of music I've heard in a very long time. every song draws your attention - don't plan on doing anything else while you listen. more please 🙏 kimmcb
supported by 5 fans who also own “Coldwell Clough”
Alt/Psych/Wyrd folk release from the UK’s Kerry Andrew. Crystal clear vocals, with keyboards, recorder, pipes, cello, bass and electric guitars, banjolele, trumpet, and various percussive elements. Here, they cover traditional tunes, as well as offering original pieces, with a watery theme. Eerie and evocative, the pieces often start simply and veer off into something else entirely. Nickie Harte Kelly
Missouri singer/songwriter Lizzie Weber delivers a trio of songs lightly informed by country music, and fleshed out with strings. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 6, 2021
