Band of Joy
In 2010, Robert Plant was pushing folk and blues into trance-like shapes, weaving dark dread into bluegrass in “Central Two-O-Nine” and pitting mandolins and banjos against doomy tremolo guitar in “Angel Dance” and “Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down.” There are sweet country moments, such as on “The Only Sound that Matters,” to leaven the intensity of magical incantations like “Monkey,” while the swollen guitars and ghostly harmonies in “Silver Rider” billow in doleful dynamic shifts that create intense gothic drama.
Around 1993, starting with the underrated Fate Of Nations, Robert Plant began to define a sound as a solo artist that was distinct from his work with Led Zeppelin. While earlier Plant records had stayed au courant, Fate Of Nations dabbled in hypnotic ’60s folk-rock, and though Plant took a nine-year break after that…
<p>Never one to give 'em what they want, Robert Plant goes his own way again, and <strong>Alexis Petridis</strong> approves</p>
Robert Plant's Band of Joy is a smoulderingly beautiful collection. Rating: * * * *