Song is the first taste of veteran Vancouver roots rocker’s forthcoming solo album Field Recordings
All of us have something to say about the current state of world, but few have the courage to put it into the form of a song as Mark Branscombe has done on “Blind Leading The Blind.” A veteran of Vancouver’s roots music scene, both on his own and as a member of The Gravel-Aires and the Mud Bay Blues Band, Branscombe’s latest project is the forthcoming solo album Field Recordings, a two-year endeavour comprised of new songs written and recorded during that period at various locations.
“Blind Leading The Blind” is the first taste of Field Recordings, a deceptively simple folk song containing a complicated message, highlighted by lyrics such as, “Things have changed in the land of the free, they locked the door and can’t find the key, lost the handle on democracy.”
Branscombe says he was inspired to write the song after observing East Vancouver artist Paul Chevreau re-locate a large concrete Statue of Liberty sculpture called “Liberty’s Opinion” to his new home. “He and a troupe of lads were towing it down the sidewalk near my house,” Branscombe explains. “The dolly broke a wheel in front of my place and Paul asked if he could leave the statue there until the dolly was fixed, which took three weeks.
“Each morning, I would look out to see if Liberty was still with us. At the time, the turmoil with the new U.S. administration was ramping up and I thought that a lot of Americans might have been asking if Liberty was still there too. There is hope in this song that the right thing might happen in the end.”
“Blind Leading The Blind” also marks a departure from Branscombe’s typical blues-based songwriting, still prevalent on Field Recordings, but reflective of his new attitude as a solo artist after leaving Mud Bay in 2022. “I have since met a few different Vancouver artists that I could collaborate with, which led to The Gravel-Aires making our third album Westerly in 2024. But I’ve found that writing as a solo act provides more room to move stylistically and to express what is in my heart, mind and soul.”
Branscombe also points to a 2023 excursion he made to Istanbul, Athens, and the Greek island Hydra as an eye-opening experience. As many know, Hydra is where Leonard Cohen created some of his best work, and Branscombe had that in mind as he worked on Field Recordings. “It became a process of blackening a page and then editing ferociously,” he says. “Every morning I would try to come up with some riffs or chord structures, record them on my phone or make a voice memo, and try to write lyrics by the time I had my second cup of coffee. It was all about capturing the moment, and if the ideas were strong enough, I would come back and assemble them into a song.”
The original concept of field recordings dates back to the early 20th century with the work of folklorists John and Alan Lomax, and its time may have come again in this age when the authenticity of nearly everything is questioned. However, there’s no denying the authenticity of Mark Branscombe’s “Blind Leading The Blind,” a song that unflinchingly says what needs to be said.