Lucy Mellenfield: ‘Tell the Water, She Will Listen’

The musician-led Stoney-Lane Records always delivers new and interesting music and once again they have introduced me to a new artist - composer, pianist and vocalist Lucy Mellenfield.

If you want somewhere to start, I recommend the gradual build-up of layers on Like a Feather before the track finishes once more on nearly-solo piano. From the opening notes, this songwriting and composition flits effortlessly between jazz and folk - and who needs to put music in genre boxes any more?

This is painfully, heart-wrenchingly auto-biographical writing that nevertheless succeeds in becoming universal. Taking the symbol of a feather from the opening track, Tell the Water, She Will Listen turns over and again towards nature, including in Orange and Lemons, which enlightens on the subject of love and remarks on “hillsides”, “valleys” and “clifftops”.

Combining acoustic instruments and controlled electronics, production by the talented Chris Hyson (well-known for his work with artists like Jordan Rakei and Rosie-Frater-Taylor) and great performances from the whole ensemble make this album worthy of more than a single listen.

The final, poetic At the Mercy part II brings Tell the Water, She Will Listen to a captivating, huge conclusion as Mellenfield’s vocals soar above an ensemble that embraces the wildness of nature and the human condition.

As well as her insistent and incisive vocals, Lucy Mellenfield composed all the tracks and also performs on grand piano, upright piano, rhodes, keyboards, synths and acoustic guitar. Alongside her on this album are Tom Henery (guitar), Alex Collett-Sinfield (tenor sax, alto sax, kalimba, flute, mandolin, acoustic guitar), Josh Vadiveloo (bass), Jonno Gaze (drums, percussion) and Chris Hyson (synths, producer).

Lucy says: “Tell the Water, She Will Listen is an album that pinpoints moments in my early twenties where I have been at my most vulnerable. I have faced fears, battled with relationships, fallen in love, seen loved ones suffer, revisited childhood trauma, experienced health scares, and have raised questions about the frightening society we live in. For me, songs are a saving grace. They unravel this scroll of feelings and thoughts that would otherwise linger in knots within me.”

Follow Lucy Mellenfield and buy Tell the Water, She Will Listen on Bandcamp