Be absorbed by the video premiere of Joe Wilkes’ nostalgic, timeless new single, When I was a Young Boy. Over gorgeously intricate acoustic guitar, Wilkes’ voice ranges high and low, following a haunting melody. His characterful vocal, with a weary touch of grit, transports us back in time through the song’s moody tone and dark narrative.
Wilkes says of the song: “This is a song which everyone knows and has always known in some way. There was never a time when this song did not exist. It has folk-roots DNA going back hundreds of years. It’s related to The Unfortunate Rake, which might be the origin of the spring, and a constellation of other ‘lament’ songs. St James Infirmary is a descendant, having crossed the Atlantic into the cradle of Appalachia. It has many relatives in the British Isles and US. Arranged here as a gothic hymn, invoking the singer’s present-day ghosts.
“It’s arranged in quite an unfolky way. Like other songs on the album, it’s presented as a singer-songwriter would, as an original composition. This is the approach of much of the album. It is also not very British or trad-sounding compared to some of the others on Hope. The overall mood is out of time and place, ghostly and somewhat haunted. A mood piece for a desolate, eternal winter with only a hint of the spring referenced in the song’s lyrics.”
Wilkes’ new album, Hope In My Chest, Fire in My Throat, has just been released via Frontline Records; it’s a collection of traditional songs and original compositions that trace Wilkes’ deeply reflective journey through a range of challenging life experiences, including bereavement, illness and addiction. While paying tribute to the folk traditions of familiar, older songs, Wilkes strives to make them new, delivering them with contemporary arrangements that make them feel refreshing and current. His approach is a conscious attempt to revitalise a genre that Wilkes argues has become too sanitised. He says, “My folk heroes looked like degenerate sailors. Now they look self-conscious, like Kier Starmer.”
The writing and recording process was long as Wilkes tackled numerous trials and interruptions. There was a serious incident when Wilkes had occupied an arms factory; during the occupation, he crashed through a roof, breaking his back and legs. Inevitably, the songs were left unfinished for many months during his recovery. Then he developed a painful fibrotic condition in his hands, causing them to contract severely. As the music receded, Wilkes’ drinking increased. That these songs were ever finished and put out into the world is a feat in itself, requiring perseverance and a great force of will, as well as surgery and overcoming the alcohol use.
Check out the new record. You’ll find protest songs and politics, tales of working-class life, sweeping narratives and gritty humour. All of this is delivered with great musicality and technical instrumentation; the songs are beautifully arranged, and the result feels timeless. Enjoy.
