There’s epic, and there’s EPIC!!!!…………..sprawling over five sides of vinyl, The Saving Of Cadan, the latest release by Cornish Prog/Psych/Freak Rock band Hanterhir spins a tale rooted in Cornish myth and folklore that’s unashamedly vast in its scope and ambition. Conceived and recorded deep in the countryside around the town of Redruth, a world away from the mainstream music scene, The Saving Of Cadan brings together traditional songcraft with trippy Acid Folk and Psych Rock squall outs to create possibly the first ever concept album that has a collection of songs with lyrics alternating between English and Cornish, telling the story about a boy, Cadan, who tries to drown himself in a lake on Carn Marth but gets saved by a wicked spirit (The Lady of the Lake or Morwenna) who has herself been cursed to the lake. With echoes of 70s Folk/Prog with its expansive soundscape that includes saxophone, fiddle and flute added to more standard Rock instruments, a hint of bands such as Horslips where traditional influences are bulked up with loud guitars and a modern Psychedelic Rock sheen, Hanterhir have forged their own idiosyncratic path in splendid isolation away from any current “scene” where The Saving Of Cadan is undoubtedly “Made In Cornwall” but with a universal appeal. Having already found a loyal ProgHead following across Southwest England, Hanterhir are now turning their eyes toward the wider UK audience.
With a running time of around the 100 minute mark, The Saving Of Cadan really needs to listened to in one sitting be fully appreciated, twisting and turning through several contrasting moods and textures as the record ebbs and flows through gentle Folk influenced reveries to barely controlled fuzzed up guitar wig outs. It’s a journey that takes the listener from reverb soaked ethereal tracks such as ‘Cadan’, Cornish folklore being channeled through songs such as ‘Darallow’, ‘Arloedhes A’n Lydn’ and ‘Dygoweth’, Acid Folk infused cuts like ‘Alone Again’ and ‘The Light’ to the free form Psych Rock freak outs of ‘Hello Sunshine’, ‘The Dream’, ‘The Sun Came Up Again’ and ‘Morwenna And The Lamb’. Fans of “classic” BritProg will really love this record……..yes it’s a 70s influenced Prog Rock album at heart but scratch the surface it is so much more, firmly grounded in a twilight world of the imagination where Prog Rock, Psychedelia, Folk and Jazz co-exist The Saving Of Cadan follows a linear path through the years snatching inspiration from the 70s through every decade that follows.
Due for release 27 July 2018 by Easy Action Records on limited edition 3 x LP and 2 x CD, The Saving Of Cadan is available to pre-order from all the usual on line retailers or can be pre-ordered directly from the Easy Action store.
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