SAM MORTON
Daffodils & Dirt (XL)
This collaboration, Daffodils & Dirt, between actress Samantha Morton and XL Records boss Richard Russell stems from the latter tuning into the former’s Desert Island Discs appearance. Music, said Morton – laying bare the events of a traumatic childhood – gave her empowerment and comfort when there was nobody there. Suicide’s Dream Baby Dream and Burden Of Shame by UB40 were among her choices, and both songs have some resonance on this debut album. UB40’s Ali Campbell guests on Broxtowe Girl and there is a Suicid-al quality to the engaging Cry Without End.
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Daffodils & Dirt opens with a baleful spoken word piece, Highwood House, and ends with the fragile, powerful Loved By God. There’s a purity to Hunger Hill Road, and what could be loosely described as broken-beat trickery. When Russell worked with Gil Scott-Heron on his swansong album, 2010’s I’m New Here, he accentuated Heron’s voice with layered, uncluttered electronic soundscapes – and does much the same thing for Morton here.
Kaleidoscope, something like John Barry meets Massive Attack, and dub and bass-heavy Double Dip Neon are showstoppers both, while Let’s Walk In The Night has the same clubby vibe as latter-day Everything But The Girl. Daffodils & Dirt is haunting, at times uneasy listening, but ultimately effective, rewarding and unforgettable.
words DAVID NOBAKHT
