Tell Me a Story is the third offering from Leicester singer-songwriter, Grace Petrie. It is a sometimes poignant, sometimes exhilarating rollercoaster ride through love and politics. Some of the songs on this album are set to become classics in her repertoire for years to come.
All of the songs are accoustic, just Ms Petrie and her guitar, though there is occasional percussion. Tom Knight plays bodhran on the song, Tell Me a Story, while Adam Ellis adds tambourine to Farewell to Welfare.
Grace Petrie: A Protest Singer for Britain's Youth
At 24 years old, Ms Petrie has the political maturity of a much older person. She leans towards left-wing ideals, with her eloquence sharpened by keeping the company of such Socialist luminaries as Billy Bragg and Tony Benn. She knows her history and she's not afraid to sing about it.
Farewell to Welfare, one of the highlights of this album, name-checks Harvey Milk, Martin Luther King and Section 28, weaving them into a diatribe against current figures like Nick Clegg and Theresa May. This is the voice of the British Coalition youth raging against the opportunities and secure future that is being systematically denied to them.
Her generation have been faced with the introduction of University fees, which has denied higher education to all but the wealthy; a recession, which has left the highest percentage ever of 18-24 year olds out of work; and constant headlines stating that there will be no pensions by the time they are eligible to receive one. 'And you ask me, where is the youth vote?' Ms Petrie sings, 'Well they didn't let me in, so you'll find me in the pub, raising a toast to the ghost of welfare.' Every lyric is powerful and delivered with enough passion to raise goosebumps.
Yet it's not all doom and gloom. In the album's other political song, the eponymous Tell Me a Story, Ms Petrie is proud of her country and its social history. 'I've still got faith in my fellow man, I believe he's doing all he can,' she tells us and makes us believe it too.
Grace Petrie: Achingly Beautiful Love Songs
Ms Petrie is quickly gathering a reputation as a protest singer, in the same vein as her friend and mentor, Billy Bragg. It's not undeserved. Her most recent appearances have been at the 2011 Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival and the Glastonbury Leftfield, not to mention turning up with her guitar outside Nick Clegg's constituency office in Sheffield. If she can get her message out and raise awareness about political issues, then she will.
However, politics isn't the whole story and it certainly isn't on this album. The two protest songs bookend the play-list, but every song between chronicles the ups and downs of Ms Petrie's tumultuous love life.
Some of the lyrics here are hilarious. The Distance pits the desire to be there for her girlfriend against the failures of her 'steed', ie a highly unreliable Vauxhall Cavaliar. 'And darling, if you're ever in need, I'll show up on my noble steed, so long as your need doesn't exceed a reasonable speed.' At the other end of the spectrum, songs like Baby Blue are heart-breaking. Ms Petrie's voice cracks as she tells us, 'My lover is in the arms of another tonight.'
Two stand out tracks are Iago and Incompetent Love Song. The former co-opts the poisonous counsellor from Shakespeare's Othello as a personal demon. He apparently sits on Ms Petrie's shoulder and erodes her self-confidence. Relationships cannot survive under this onslaught, as she ruins them herself with insecurity. The latter provides a charming insight into her attempts to repair the damage: 'And I know that I can't just turn up, on your doorstep, with a single flower and look at you, and stick out my bottom lip, like a naughty puppy that weed on your carpet.' Those apologies must be truly something to behold.
Tell Me A Story: Extra Track
The album can be downloaded from her website, but there is also an option to buy a physical CD. True to her political roots, this arrives in a cover made of recycled cardboard. There is a disclaimer telling the reader that 'no trees were harmed in the making of this CD case'. There are also two coasters, bearing the artwork from the album, alongside lyrics from Inspector Morse.
As an extra inducement to purchase the CD, there is an extra track, not available on the downloaded version. This is Middle of Nowhere. It covers similar ground to Iago, with just as much aching emotion. It constitutes yet another high point in an already strong album.
Grace Petrie is only just starting out, but I feel that we will be hearing from her for a long time yet.
Sources:
- Grace Petrie.
- Grace Petrie: Tell Me a Story.
Jo Harrington - Jo has a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy and a MA in History. She has a book published on the history of Wicca.
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