The Midnite River Crew are a London and Kent-based recording band dedicated to recording songs by Mark Johnson, the main singer-songwriter, who also contributes on acoustic guitar and harmonica. The collaboration also includes Martin Lloyd Howard on instrumentation and production.
After giving their latest album, ‘The Stories We Tell,’ a listen, the folk, blues, and roots vibes are apparent right from the get-go. The duo’s partnership sees them exploring a broad range of sound, with instrumentation like the keys, electric guitar, a smattering of drums, harmonica, and much more. Johnson shows his range with his vocals on tracks like “While I’m Still Counting” and the cover version of Donovan’s classic track “Season of the Witch.”
On “While I’m Still Counting,” poetic lyrics like “Let’s take a walk in the snow/Let’s talk about the things we know/ I admit it’s a lot to show/ I confess it’s a long road/let’s take a drive through the mountains/Let’s take a drink at the fountains/Stars in the sky surrounding/talks at while I’m still counting…” makes the listening experience all the more powerful. The electric guitar and supporting drums added an amazing flavor to the overall sound. The track includes small details that you’ll discover afresh with every new listen.
However, toward the title-track, “The Stories We Tell,” I thought the way Johnson executes the vocals here was a little lackluster. Here, he instead of singing the track normally, he half-sings, half-speaks it. So it came off sounding a little stilted to me. I missed the flow and fluidity of the previous track, and wished there could’ve been less experimentation and more regular singing. Despite all that, the musicianship and instrumentation rocked, especially the guitar solo and harmonica solo toward the 2:48 mark.
Following is The Midnite River Crew’s rendition of “Season of the Witch.” Some noodling on the electric guitar starts off this track. Gradually, some bass and drums enter. Johnson’s vocals here sound great. Here, he sings regularly, and the performance feels emotionally powerful. I’ve never heard the original, so I can’t directly compare the two, but from what I hear, Johnson’s version seems to work well on its own. The great energy and atmosphere of this song really stood out in my mind. The addition of the organ also added a happening vibe.
On “What I Need to See,” strands of guitars immediately pull you in. The addition of the acoustic guitar gave this track a simmering energy as the combination of acoustic and electric guitars reels you in. Once again, here, Johnson half-sings, half-speaks the song. Although I don’t enjoy this style as much as when he sings regularly, I appreciate Johnson’s willingness to experiment with different styles and modes. Johnson sings: “From the edge of darkness/Into the black/From out of the darkness/Into the light/Imagine all the colors/In your mind’s eye/As they slip through the eye of the needle/From the red eye to the black eye/Looking at the eye of the storm…” From what I got, the lyrics sounded very mysterious. Perhaps what the duo is trying to do here is slowly reveal the lyrics little by little with this stream-of-consciousness singing-style approach. Which makes sense. They want to keep listeners hanging until the very last note.
More of the band’s slow-burning sound comes through on “One Way Ticket to Paradise” as the sounds of the harmonica and electric guitar adds to the atmosphere. (“When I first passed you/I had to blink twice/When you first asked me, I didn’t have to think twice/I knew that you were going to be a big sacrifice/Your love has a grip like a vise/When all is said and done it’s all going to come down to a roll of a dice…”) Like the previous songs, the duo’s lyrics are filled with great imagery and details. Though I still like the regular singing better, this style is growing on me. As Johnson sings, more detail is revealed slowly. This creates a sense of anticipation, which I thought was interesting. Later: (“I don’t wanna make a slip/And look too unhip/I’m used to cracking a whip/But your falls like a six/If we end up scratching around like two blind mice/I don’t want us to pay that price/On the rebound I found my one-way ticket to paradise”). About taking a gamble with a love, the harmonica and spoken word-like vocals gave this a rather bluesy and Beatnik air. Overall, this felt like a performance poetry piece.
“A Thousand Jewels” sounded more upbeat than their previous songs. The change of pace was nice. (“I knew someone but not like you/She felt caged then…I tried to find her, yes overseas/I can’t describe what came over me/I found a sublet but not alone/Not in my world under a stone)” The combined vocal harmonies were also another highlight. Then: (“…Always looking to give/I swept away all those fools/I locked away all those rules/I’ll buy you gold and a thousand jewels/Without working miracles”). The band really locks in a great sound here.
“Faith and Life” opens up with some stripped-back electric guitar riffs. Then Johnson’s vocals come in. Again, this number felt like another performance poetry piece. “For the past present and future/Through love life through death/Forever and one day/Help me find your way.” The lyrics felt like the band was tossing a bunch of platitudes together. This can get a little overwhelming in certain moments.
“Passing Time” includes the acoustic guitar as Johnson softly coos and croons on this track. Eventually, some piano enters the mix as well as some strings. The instrumentation on this track really sounded great. I especially enjoyed the deft musicianship on the acoustic guitar. The swell of strings also sounded very atmospheric to my ears. Here, Johnson gives us a few words of wisdom: “When you are younger, time passes slowly/When you get older, time passes quicker/Time passes quickly/When you are stronger, time passes slowly…” Later on, the protagonist talks not just about time passing but also the changes he sees in himself and his significant other. Good stuff!
“The Person I Remember” opens up with noodling on the acoustic guitar. Again, the performance poetry vibe is back. The song takes its time in evolving as Johnson’s vocals are at first accompanied by interwoven acoustic guitar melodies. Then some synths join in around the 3:36 mark.
A countdown starts off this sunny track as the sound of bass, percussion, and acoustic guitar struts in “Charlie Rainbow.” This music reminded me of music from the 60s. It definitely had a great vibe. Something about the melody felt very familiar, and this felt like it could very well become a classic. There was definitely something very timeless about this track.
SCORE/Good: I gave this a ‘Good’ score. The reason this album didn’t score higher is because the tracks where the band experiments with performance poetry-like vocals weren’t my cup of tea. I enjoyed the songs where Johnson sings regularly more. But for certain tracks like the title-track “Stories We Tell” and “What I Need to See,” the level of experimentation with the vocals left me wanting more. And it’s not like Johnson doesn’t have the vocal range to belt out these tracks. On tracks like the opener “While I’m Still Counting,” their cover of “Season of a Witch,” and their very classic finale “Charlie Rainbow,” Johnson lets loose with some very great vocalizations. Because of this, I know Johnson has the vocal prowess but sometimes chooses a different approach to his singing style. This all comes down to choice. Not all songs are alike. And the duo oftentimes chooses to experiment with a half-sung/half-spoken-word-like style with the vocals. At times, this can be interesting. Like on “What I Need to See,” which has very enigmatic and stream-of-consciousness lyrics that slowly reveal to you what the band wants you to see. In a nutshell, I can’t exactly rule out the band’s penchant for experimentation. Some of the songs did eventually grow on me. It’s just a matter of preference and what your mood is like at the moment. If you’re in the mood for some artsy performance-like poetry music rooted in blues and folk, then this should be right down your alley. Even if you’re not a total art nerd, ‘The Stories We Tell’ is an album that is sure to keep things interesting.
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