Katie Doherty and the Navigators - And Then

The album opens with ‘I’ll go Out’ a song perhaps unsurprisingly about going for a night out, musically it sets the tone of the album, vocals very much take centre stage backed by traditional instruments with squeezebox being noticeable on most tracks. It has an old fashioned sound almost, not in the songs sound dated but more timeless. 

This is continued in uplifting sounding trtack ‘Heartbeat Ballroom’ and in fact I can hear the influence of the stage this track, and others share the quality, could almost be taken from a stage production. Not in a West End musical way but in terms of music accompanying a play, which is probably added to by the fact each track seems to tell a story all of which seem to come from real life experiences be they happy or sad.

There is a change of tone for ‘A Rose in Winter’ almost lamenting the changing of the seasons which leads into a folk dance number of ‘Polska’. There is a great variation of folk styles on the one album with ‘Angry Daughter’ giving a slightly fiercer edge to the sound. The album draws to a close on ‘We Burn’ referencing the personal emotions being put into the record “We burn with grief, we burn with love”.

 It was album that was interesting to listen to, which I think is something that isn’t often sadly true but it offers a good mix of storytelling backed up by the tunes to keep you engaged. I for one am pleased she found the opportunity to share her personal music with the world and hope it won’t be another twelve years before we get to hear more of it. 

Review by Jon Cooper 

Check Out! the Video for 'Heartbreak Ballroom' Below...