Rev Simpkins & the Phantom Notes - Saltings (2022) [Hi-Res

8/10 Vive le Rock
'[amid] the tender country strains of Saltings...the intensity builds between the notes...his vocals are magnificent, as is the production...with an outstanding book by Tom Knight that will take your breath away'

'Saltings' is a close collaboration between Matt Simpkins and the Mersea Island artist, Tom Knight, who has created a stunning work of art for each song on the LP.

It is a loving portrait of the mystery and beauty of the salt marsh wildernesses of Essex, and a meditation on the human cost of the wilderness time of the pandemic.

Like Rev Simpkins's last LP, 'Big Sea', 'Saltings' is most of all a record of unblinking realism amidst darkness, and of a hope grounded in human experience.

The album weaves together tales of the legendary and mysterious figures of the saltings, such as John Ball (leader of the peasants’ revolt) and Saint Cedd (whose Saxon chapel stands at Bradwell), with reflections on the wilderness’s ever-changing tides, skies, and seasons. Saltings is an attempt to share the atmosphere and history of this remarkable place in picture and song.

Matt writes, "I wrote these songs walking the saltings during the pandemic, pondering the tears of exhaustion, anger, fear, frustration and mourning that I’d seen in others. So the songs are themselves saltings: little tears. Instead of weeping, I wrote and I sang. But these aren’t sorrowful songs. I hope they speak of the hope that resides in the saltings, and of real life and real compassion."