Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
A Dark Carnival resides within us all, we might not allow the fair rides and galleries to be accessed by just anyone with the five shillings required to gain entry, but once inside they will come to appreciate what exactly drives the carriages onwards, it may not be their cup of tea, they might consider it more of a lengthy ghost train that has far too much emphasis on fate rather than celebration, but it is honest, it is a different kind of beauty in which to focus upon and one that is in reality a brighter ride to enjoy than one shrouded in make believe.
It is to the drama of life that A Dark Carnival is surely drawn from, one to which Kate Green has the absolute authority to write, as someone who has worked in the minefield of mental health, to bring together songs of illumination and intimate relations within the scope of human conscious, Kate Green produces a seismic sense of outrage and repercussion within the framework of beauty, of haunting melody and cool driven persuasion.
The combined magic of contemporary covers and original set pieces flow as if a rare vintage champagne had been opened in a room where people had been refused water, tracks such as When The Levee Breaks, Renegades (Of Love And Rage), Bows Of London, Fine Horseman, Cuckoo Song, Reclaim The Light, Shallow Brown, and Ferodo Bridges all contain the pertinent message of urgency, that we are all culpable of denying the future its proper place.
With contributions from Patrick Walker, Raymond Greenoaken, Jed Grimes, Liam Fender, Neil Harland, Paul Smith, Michael Doonan, Rob File, Ellie Long all being given prominence, A Dark Carnival is rich in its honesty, bluntly influential, and one that insists on reclaiming space for women to grow, to be heard, recognised and be as audaciously damning of what they witness, what they observe, and are subjected to, as they wish.
A spectrum so broad that each song is its own masterpiece, daring and refusing to be silenced, the album is not about sentiment, but of infuriation, of the pacifying of the poetic heart in the face of maelstroms and provocation, and for those who have taken Kate Green to their hearts, the distance between albums is of little concern, what matters is how enticing A Dark Carnival can be.
Ian D. Hall