TRACK LIST:
1. In the Sky and All Around 1:48
2. Barbara Ann 4:39
3. Smoke Road 3:12
4. Petals of the Moon 4:07
5. The Green Man 6:27
6. The Tides That Turn 4:06
7. Molly Mawkaby 4:21
8. Greygoose 3:57
9. Dreamwalkers 3:27
10. The Burning 4:33
11. Flowers That Bloom 3:52
12. Slow the Dark Wind Blows 2:55
13. Jenny Many Names 3:50
14. Kiss Me With Silence 4:13
15. Tie Me to the Wind 2:34
16. Elven Boy 4:37
17. The Grey Light 4:23
18. Which Way Is the Wind 3:23
19. Lament 7:54
LINE UP :
Crystal Jacqueline - vocals
Icarus Peel - guitars, bass, synthesizers, bouzouki, bodhran, sitar
with:
Leo O’Kelly - violin
Mark McDowell - vocals
Rob Gould - piano
Jay Tausig - flute, vocals, drums
Mordecai Smyth - mellotron
Dick Terry - drums, vocals
Django Manglunki - guitars
Maria Townsend - Irish whistle
Phil Townsend - jaw harp
Prolusion.
UK artist Crystal Jacqueline has been an active recording artist since 2010, with a number of solo albums to her name since then, usually released by UK labels Fruits de Mer Records or Mega Dodo Records. This album "Smoky Roads" is her most recent one, and was issued through the aforementioned label Fruits de Mer Records.
Analysis.
It is the folk-oriented aspect of the psychedelic rock tradition that is explored on this production. And while Jacqueline's striking and enchanting voice is a bit of a calling card here, as usual, she does share the vocal duties on a few tracks and also takes a bit more of a back seat in some of the songs here.
The common denominator throughout are compositions of a more careful nature, creations that revolve around the vocals and the acoustic guitar, with careful addition and expansions by piano, violin, flute, keyboards or a carefully used electric guitar. Sometimes with more than one of those additional instruments present, but always with a more careful execution of the moods, atmospheres and landscapes explored. Melancholy and dreamladen tapestries walk hand in hand here, at times with more striking and dramatic embellishments albeit present in a more subtle and understated manner.
Excursions into a more psychedelic and rock flavored landscape are present on this album too, with more limelight given to electric guitars, keyboards and occasionally the violin and flute too, with more pastoral, down to Earth excursions being present here as well as darker toned, more expressive and haunting constructions. In addition we get a couple of cuts with a little bit of an Americana feel present, as well as the one-off a cappella opening song that is a most striking feature indeed, and a bit of a boon for those who find Jacqueline's vocals to be generally mesmerizing in nature. We do get a couple of instrumentals along the way here, and it probably isn't an accidental feature that the album starts with an a cappella number and concludes on an instrumental note.
In addition to the folk and psychedelic traits explored on this production, I also find that this is an album that has a little bit of a 1960s feel to it. Most often with a bit of a dreamladen to melancholic innocence being present, but sometimes with the darker moods and atmospheres more typically present in music from the end of the 1960s finding their way into this creation.
Conclusion.
If you tend to enjoy music that has more of a retro-oriented or vintage sounding quality to it, and you enjoy artists that use folk music and psychedelic pop and rock as the dominant and cornerstone aspects of musical, landscapes of this kind, then this latest solo album by Crystal Jacqueline is one to lend an ear to for sure. As will be the case with her previous solo albums and to some extent also her band The Honey Pot. This is a solid album in my book, and one that will be of interest to those who enjoy various combinations of vintage sounding psychedelic pop and rock blended with folk music details in particular.
Progmessor: November 2025
The Rating Room
