The last time we shared music from Craig Gould on these pages, he was flying solo. Now he’s back with some ‘Noble Thieves’ and a live-recorded EP.

By Graeme Smith

Feature photo by Phil Drury 2324 Photography

“When the momentum was building towards the release of [Gould’s last album] Songs from the Campfire back in 2023, I wanted to make sure the album tour shows would really hit with a bang, so I decided to put a band together,” he says of his newly acquired group.

“I’d met Lee Cogswell back in 2022 and he joined as a bass player and on backing vocals, who was later joined by Jonny Peters on drums. We worked as a three and made some really great progress with bringing the album tracks alive for the tour.

“The last addition was the incredible Rosie Faith. I wanted another vocalist to sing alongside me, and her voice fit perfectly. We all really gelled so very well, and after the tour I told them how much I’d enjoyed my time with them, so if they wanted the job, it was theirs.”

Their new EP, Live at Beckview Studios, is the first time we’re hearing them on tape, and it teases their next album by looking forward to it with three new songs while also visiting Songs From The Campfire.

“I had some new songs and asked if they wanted to work on them with me, as opposed to me working it all out and then getting musicians in to play the parts. We’ve continued to grow ever since, and the journey has been incredible. They’ve helped develop the songs for the next album and we’ve continued to focus on our live product. It’s been wonderful working with them and I’m very excited to continue it.”

There’s a local angle to this story. The titular Beckview Studios is in Scarborough just along the North Yorkshire coast from Filey, a place where Gould and I met. “We loved meeting you in Filey. That was wonderful and we are so thankful that you came!” Gould exclaims.

So, why did Gould and his band, who are based in Burton-on-Trent, come back to these parts for this recording?

“The location was purely down to it being at Beckview,” says Gould. “The opportunity came to work with Chris & Kristina and it’s not one we were going to turn down. Firstly, they are amazing people who do wonderful things for grassroots music. Working with them was a dream.

“Secondly, the studio is simply incredible – warm, energetic, beautifully lit, carefully presented, and the focus on analogue gear is divine. I can’t recommend the place enough – artists and industry need to check out Beckview and look at working there.”

The live recorded approach truly captures the experience of watching Gould live. He and his band are performing in front of a live audience on the record, and you get all the imperfections that come with that. One notable moment near the end of the show sees Gould encourage the audience to clap along, which they spectacularly fail to do in time. It’s a moment of levity that shows the human side of music.

And if there’s one thing Gould is good at, it’s capturing humanity. His songs are microcosms of the stresses and strains of life, showing us the shades of light and dark that exist in all of us. We’re heard it in the folksy Songs From The Campfire, which dealt with Gould’s mental breakdown, and we’re going to hear a different side on new album, Songs of Love and War.

“Songs of Love and War is going to be special,” says Gould. “We’ve worked so hard over the last 12-24 months curating the collection of songs and developing them even before we’ve recorded them, thinking about the order of the tracks, lyrically what I want to say, and making sure we have a record that includes everything that we feel represents us and where we are.

“Theres blues, country, folk, Americana, and rock. Theres a heaviness to the songs that people won’t expect from us, and there’s still the intimacy and closeness that people came to love from Campfire.

“The songs challenge the world, asking questions as to why we have war, why are we seeing genocides taking place as the world stands and watches. Theres’s despair, love, and hope. It’s going to be something that will really make a statement.”

While we wait for the new album, Live from Beckview Studios gives us plenty to ruminate over. The EP is out now, and you can listen to it below.