Julianne Regan & Tim Bricheno, formerly of All About Eve (Wild Hearted Woman, Every Angel, Martha’s Harbour), have reconnected in recent years and this has led to them writing and recording together again, with the occasional release on YouTube. The duo have now amassed enough material to be planning a full album release for 2024, on digital and hopefully physical formats.
Regan & Bricheno (they decided against going out under the All About Eve name) have announced a Bandcamp digital release of their new interpretations of two seasonal, traditional ‘winter’ songs on 1 December 2023. Just in time for that most wonderful time of the year.
Julianne and Tim play everything on In The Bleak Midwinter and The Snows They Melt the Soonest, and they engineered, produced and mixed the tracks themselves.
In the Bleak Midwinter has music adapted by Regan and Bricheno in 2022, from Holst (circa 1906). The original poem / lyric from 1875 was written by Christine Rossetti, with an additional lyric by Julianne Regan in 2022.
In the Bleak Midwinter was often referenced in the recent TV series Peaky Blinders, particularly when a character was close to death, so has dark undertones. The Regan & Bricheno interpretation is solemn and very moving, with a reverb-drenched intro section, consisting of heavily chorused guitar and multi-layered vocals.
The arrangement of In the Bleak Midwinter reminds me of This Mortal Coil, which is a very good thing! Julianne’s vocals are stunning, with the duo lifting the mood as the percussion and bells arrive towards the songs mid-section.
One of my personal Christmas traditions is watching Victorian Ghost Stories for Christmas, often with M. R. James adaptations, around Christmas Eve and this song could be the perfect theme tune for a future adaptation. Mark Gatiss, please take note.
The Snows They Melt the Soonest is a traditional folk song dating back as far as 1821. It is my favourite of the two tracks. With Twin Peaks / Angelo Badalamenti referencing ice-cold guitar lines, the track is shorn of any Christmas decorations and is a beautiful hymn to the dark, cold and crisp winter nights.
“When somebody tells me that my face they’ll soon forget,
Before we part, I’d wage a crown, they are fain to follow it yet.”
The arrangement is so rich, with strings bubbling under the ice, and a slow-paced build. The percussion suggests a feeling of the elements, snow falling and ice slowly melting. A mournful guitar line signals the end of the song, as the dying notes mutate to the final fade.
The two Winter tracks may not be an indication of the music to come from Regan & Bricheno, as they are very much made for the season, but they offer a tantalising glimpse into the quality we should expect from a 2024 album release, and I am looking forward to what this renewed musical partnership could deliver. Let us all raise a glass to 2024 and new music from Regan & Bricheno.
The single will be available on Bandcamp on 1 December 2023.
Follow Regan & Bricheno on:
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