Counters Creek - My Treasured Land

Six years on from their debut album The Careful Placement of Stones, London quartet Counter’s Creek release My Treasured Land, a collection of largely original tunes and songs describing life in London in the last five years, including during the lockdown period, but also evoking the joy of a rural escape to places such as Suffolk or the Lake District.

As in their previous artistic endeavour, the band’s distinctive woodwind and fiddle combination is the driving force behind their instrumentals. Tracks like the opening jig Birds Without Wings, the foot-tapping reel Woodshedded Rollercoasters, and the slow reel and jig set The Quiet Night Inn / Return to Benslow showcase a stunning array of musical talent; the latter notably introducing, alongside the low whistle, the sound of the wooden flute to the band’s repertoire.

Many titles, including the ones of the songs, particularly the title track and the two parts of Home at Last, tell the story of the multiple inspirations for these composition: climate crisis and environmental concern (The Gilded Cage), civic pride (March Hare Cherry Blossom), desire for a simpler and less frantic world (Unexpected Blessings), and the innocence of childhood (Brand New World) are just some of the themes behind the compositions on this album.

These tracks are side by side with a couple of traditional songs, namely Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy and seafaring song Bold Riley, presented in the sensitive and colourful style of this eclectic quartet.

As the title suggests, this work is a multi-faceted celebration of British traditional music. Despite being firmly rooted in the capital, it presents a wide variety of sounds, time signatures, and atmospheres, evoking distant times and different scenery, from the mountains of Cumbria to the open skies of East Anglia, from the Highlands of Scotland to the Thames Valley.
My Treasured Land is a sophisticated yet accessible album, technical and deeply emotional at the same time. Its sound and quality provide a natural step up from the band’s previous work, establishing Counter’s Creek as one of the most intriguing voices of the London folk scene.