Devoting more time to her music than her artwork, young singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan was expelled from art school in 1964. To her surprise, her talent was noticed immediately by the music industry, and she was subsequently signed by Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham. After a few lackluster singles, she released her debut album, Just Another Diamond Day, in 1970. Produced by the legendary Joe Boyd, whose name is synonymous with the records of Nick Drake and The Fairport Convention, the album has come to be regarded as a lost masterpiece of British folk music.
Now, 35 years later, Bunyan finally has released her follow-up. Titled Lookaftering, the album references her self-induced exile from the music world. A testament to the children she stepped out of the spotlight to raise, the liner notes thank her son for the use of his old guitar and her daughter for painting the beautiful cover art.
While the album's modest packaging and personalized accolades are endearing, the unassuming music found within is utterly captivating. Centering on the delicately pulled nylon strings of a classical guitar, songs slowly add multiple layers of instrumentation to great effect. With crisp production, all of these minute elements meld together forming a highly engaging soundscape. Representing the best arrangement, the pastoral "Wayward" ends with a potpourri of electric slide guitar, autoharp, piano and Hammond Organ.
Adding yet another layer to the captivating sound, relative newcomers to the folk scene Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom add guitar and harp respectively throughout the album. Thankfully restrained in their role as guest artists, they keep the focus securely on Bunyan.
Elegantly supported by uncluttered arrangements, Bunyan's pure chanteuse vocals mesmerize. More comparable to a classically trained vocalist than to any of her folk contemporaries, Bunyan's voice confidently portrays the diverse characters featured throughout her lyrics. In "Lately," she sings about her true-to-life role as a worrisome mother: "Never was much given to prayer/But lately I'm pleading with the air/To keep you safe from harm my dears."
The music of Lookaftering feels immediately familiar and comfortable after only a single listen. Like a favorite blanket, its songs embrace you in a way that will warm you, heart and soul, during these chilly autumn months.
Vashti Bunyan's children might be too old for "lookaftering," but following Bunyan's three decades of silence, her music is an honest token of motherly love for the rest of us.
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