Peter Viney's Blog

Ward Thomas

BST Summer Time
Hyde Park London

Sunday 15^thJuly 2018

SET LIST

Good On You
Guilty Flowers
No Filter
One More Goodbye
Cartwheels
Lie Like Me
Carry You Home

BAND
Acoustic guitar
Bass guitar
Drums
Keyboards

Ward Thomas were the second act of the day. They’re surprisingly famous … the first British “country pop” act to get to #1 in the main UK Albums Chart, with Cartwheels in 2016 They’re twin sisters from Hampshire, Catherine and Lizzie Ward Thomas. So like The Everly Brothers and The Webb Sisters (who are the closest thing in some ways) we have that particular magic “sibling harmony” in their voices.

I say “surprisingly famous” because as I look around at the faded “Graceland Tour 1989” and “You’re The One 2000” T-shirts in the crowd for Paul Simon I wonder how much the 2016 Album chart registers with this section of music fans.

They describe themselves as a British “country” act, but you should be thinking of Taylor Swift or Jennifer Nettles / Sugarland rather than Patsy Cline or Loretta Lynn. That’s no bad thing at all. They’re often compared to The Shires.

The first act on the main stage was Wild Front at just after 1 p.m. I was over at the paella stand buying lunch (we hadn’t had breakfast) and Wild Front had started with a hugely loud  DUMPH! DUMPH! Drum sound resounding around the park, and I heard no applause at the end. “I really feel for them,” I said to the woman serving me, “It’s not their crowd.” They sounded louder because there were still far fewer bodies to absorb the noise, and we watched the set seated on our blankets and dribbling vegetable paella and salsa.

Ward Thomas had way more sense of appropriate dynamic. They started gently with Good On You (fromCartwheels), and first people looked up, then we stood up to watch. To me, they sounded just like First Aid Kit or The Webb Sisters, liltingly melodic female harmony vocals. (YOUTUBE has a 2016 live version linked here).

Guilty Flowers ups the pace (Official Video link ) starting softly and then takes off with the drums and band. Excellent soaring rock, not especially country to me. Behind me someone heard Fleetwood Mac. No, more Stevie Nicks solo, though the Oh, oh, oh! Was very Jennifer Nettles … sorry, no more comparisons!

They announced the next one No Filter as the debut of a new song. The Hyde Park performance is currently on YouTube too. That brings in the big drums the previous performers had started with, but once you’re into the third song is fine. They stand far apart on stage … and dress very differently. They don’t do the “Twins” thing (though the projected photo does).

The announcing voice was a pleasant surprise. It’s “nicely spoken RP” which is a normal accent in the South … NOT “Advanced RP” but clear, well-enunciated speech. You get SO used to the posher performer (Nigel Kennedy or Russell Brand  comes to mind) who feel they have to slur, adopt an exaggerated accent and try to sound like Billy Bragg. I’m not knocking Billy Bragg, that’s his real voice, but I AM knocking the posh kids trying to talk down! A public schoolboy saying “Awright, mate?’ sounds daft.l

One More Goodbye is also from their forthcoming album Restless Minds. It’s so easy looking their stuff up. I’d noted lyric quotes, and it ALL seems to be available online. That’s why I’ linking it. Previous generations of artistes are not this generous or perhaps foolhardy in placing all their songs online.

Cartwheels is the title track of their #1 album – the recording has the string section. Official video here.

Lie Like Me is the current promo online single from the new album (due early October 2018). It’s good to see an act previewing new stuff so enthusiastically rather than resting on the past.

Carry You Home, official video again, also from Cartwheels.  Note that this has 3,288, 619 views as of now! That’s phenomenal and ten times the viewers of Cartwheels video. I’m still not sure I’d call this “country” – it’s there in the harmonies, but the backing is very solid!

We really enjoyed their act. I’ll get the last album and I’ll get the next one.