Roots revival
Actor and producer unite for a haunting excavation of the past.
By Victoria Segal.
Richard Russell and Samantha Morton: no easy ride.
Sam Morton ★★★★
Daffodils & Dirt
XL. CD/DL/LP
WHETHER IT’S natural suspicion of mission creep, the fear of tattooed Hollywood A-listers fulfilling boorish rock fantasies, or the in-timefor-Christmas trail of celebrity blues albums, it’s hard not to flinch when actors announce a pivot into music. It only takes a moment of Daffodils & Dirt’s uncanny thr um, however, to realise that Sam Morton is no oxygen-stealing vanity project. A collaboration between producer Richard Russell and actor Samantha Morton – they take the Alice Cooper approach to band-naming – Daffodils & Dirt rakes through time and memor y, a disturbing but often beautiful collage of past and present, fantasy and reality.