Hank Tree’s “Care I” is an album built around real experiences and a subject that rarely gets an easy answer. Led by Glasgow guitarist and songwriter Fergus MacDonald, the project looks back on his decade working in the care sector, supporting people with profound learning difficulties and mental health problems. Those years sit at the heart of the record, with MacDonald exploring what it means to care for others and, just as importantly, to depend on them. The album has a lovely sense of space. MacDonald’s classical guitar takes a central role, with Clarissa Cheong adding vocals and double bass and Peter Broderick bringing violin, vocals and percussion into the mix. MacDonald also plays accordion, hammered dulcimer, electric bass, keys and percussion, giving the record plenty of room to move between intimate folk songs and more unusual instrumental passages.
That range is one of the pleasures of “Care I”. Some moments are gentle and close, while others bring in distortion-heavy sounds, quick classical guitar picking and field recordings. It gives the album a slightly unpredictable character without taking away from its intimate side. The arrangements feel carefully put together, yet the performances still have a human quality. The single “Walking To Get Lost”, released a week before the album, is a good introduction to the record. It carries the warmth of the project while showing the kind of alternative folk world Hank Tree has created. The song also conveys a strong sense of the connection between MacDonald’s songwriting and Broderick’s work, who co-produced the album and handled the mixing and mastering.
Broderick’s contribution is particularly interesting here. His background spans contemporary folk, ambient, and experimental music, and his work with MacDonald helps give “Care I” a sound that shifts between quiet, guitar-led passages and more textured sections. The voices of MacDonald and Cheong also give the songs an appealing conversational quality. For me, the strongest part of “Care I” is how personal it feels. The subject matter is serious, but the album never needs to over-explain itself. It leaves enough space for the listener to sit with the songs and think about the experiences behind them. I also really enjoy the combination of classical guitar, double bass, and two voices, which gives the record an intimate, recognizable sound.
Hank Tree has created an album that deserves time and attention. “Care I” is available now through Permanent Damage, and “Walking To Get Lost” is a great place to start if you are new to the project. Make sure to follow Hank Tree on social media for future music and updates, and add “Walking To Get Lost” to your playlist if its gentle alternative folk sound catches your ear. Better still, give “Care I” a full listen and spend some time with the songs, because there is plenty here to discover across the album.
