The Imagined Village: Empire and Love

When they first appeared at Womad, back in the summer of 2007, the Imagined Village sounded well-intentioned but in need of serious rehearsal. The idea was intriguing - to rework folk songs with global influences and electronica to reflect multicultural Britain - but their blend of programmed beats, Asian musicians and folk stars sounded like work in progress. Two years on they are a band transformed, as shown by the powerful opening track, My Son John. It's a song about wounded soldiers from the Napoleonic wars, now chillingly updated for the Afghanistan and Iraq era, with Martin Carthy's sturdy singing backed by sitar and Asian-influenced percussion. Elsewhere, the vocals are dominated by two other folk stars, Eliza Carthy and Chris Wood, and the songs range from a sitar-backed treatment of Scarborough Fair to Ewan MacColl's quirky Space Girl and an unlikely slow treatment of Slade's Cum On Feel the Noize from Martin Carthy. There are occasional passages where the electronica could be cut back, but this is an impressive set.