Visions of Albion and the beautiful stately sonic zoetrope of "Avenues"

 

"We walk down avenues in summer rain / Talked about love and we talked about pain / In spite of the weather or maybe just so / I talked about fears of letting go..."

The beautiful stately sonic zoetrope of "Avenues" by Visions of Albion, a Liverpool-based duo blending vintage instrumentation with modern production, possesses a sound that is easy to trust fall into. From the onset you fall into a waltz of violins and sonic ornaments that you might not even be able to place that leans way back to times before and when the beautiful sway of the vocals envelope you, you feel transported like you're not in Kansas anymore which is funny because artistically there is a presence here that harkens back to a time well before the 1930's The Wizard of Oz. Listening to Visions of Albion's almost mystical re-inventing of historical music and current ghost folk I thought of Smashing Pumpkins' 1995 "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" album that artfully toyed with early 1900's turn-of-the-century and Victorian-era milieus insofar as how the album and Official Video's presented the songs but this is quite different. It seems to me that Visions of Albion delves much more sonically into those kinds of modes in terms of shifting our thinking and using real world instruments from the 1920's like marxophones, 1960's mellotron textures (along with vintage sounding string arrangements and style points so to speak) than Billy Corgan's mere visual homage and, in any event, I appreciate the differences and am eager to hear more from this duo that via LINER NOTES are " inspired by the darker psychedelia of The Doors and the baroque pop craftsmanship of The Beatles, there’s a strong cinematic influence throughout, drawing on the tone and restraint of French noir cinema, particularly the work of Jean-Pierre Melville"...

LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):

[Formed in 2018, the two native Liverpudlians pull from a vast array of inspirations to create a sound that is truly authentic and original. The pairing of Sam Shield’s evocative lead vocals with Daniel Ryan’s intricate fingerstyle guitar playing creates a smorgasbord of sound that feels as fresh as it does familiar. Add to that the soaring harmonies and it’s clear to see why they have become such a mainstay of the local music scene.

Currently recording their much-anticipated debut album, their unique brand of folk-psychedelia has been described as something that “transports you back to a late 60s daydream”.]

[‘Avenues’ was recorded in and produced independently at Crosstown Studios and is released on 13 March 2026.]

Cool, very cool.

-Robb Donker Curtius

LYRICS

We walk down avenues in summer rain,

Talked about love and we talked about pain,

In spite of the weather or maybe just so,
I talked about fears of letting go

And you,
Desperately watching the view,
Seldomly speaking the truth,
Still can't see my point of view

We walked down avenues in winter snow,
Battled the sleet as we hurried home,
The mayhem the madness,
We got ourselves there,
I saw in the distance a sobering stare

It's you,
Telling lies like they're truths,
Fooling no one what's new,
Still can't see my point of view

It's you,
Telling lies like they're truths,
Fooling no one what's new,
Still can't see my point of view

The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5PHSBJFkr1QnXVX0t2pCmZ

https://www.instagram.com/visions_of_albion

https://www.facebook.com/VisionsofAlbion


If you were to take the jangliness of the 1960s West Coast, the warmth of the Laurel Canyon troubadours, and the brooding melodies of the English Folk revival; mash it all together, it might sound something like Visions of Albion.

Visions of Albion, English Folk revival, 60's folk, ghost folk, classic, retro music, historical folk, "Avenues", upcoming debut album, duo, vocalist Sam Shield, guitarist Daniel Ryan, sophisti folk, folk indie,