Bright Phoebus – Lal and Mike Waterson
Bright Phoebus had become something of a ‘lost album’ cause celebre, with a growing campaign for this proper re-release over the last few years. Of course it’s difficult for a record to be truly lost these days. What with original copies, a few dodgy CD-R reissues and the access afforded by youtube, it was already …
Modern Studies at the Edinburgh Fringe
The elegant but dusty pop of Modern Studies’ harmonium-driven Swell To Great album was one of the highlights of last year, coming out on the ever-reliable Edinburgh label Song, By Toad. And they’ll be gracing the Edinburgh festival next month as part of Sounding, a Made in Scotland music showcase, alongside Lomond Campbell and string …
Live Review: Trembling Bells, Regather Works, Sheffield 05.07.2017 plus Gallery
It’s been an odd and unsettling few months to be in this country. Through it all though the thought that the likes of the Trembling Bells couldn’t come from anywhere else has come as a comforting thought. that mix of folk, psychedelia, whimsy and a bit of a fighting edge speaks of much of the …
Swans – Plug, Sheffield 21.05.2017
So this is it for the current incarnation of Swans. Back in 2010 they rode into a world that was replete with some quite dreary Americana and blew it apart. (OK, I’m talking about my world, but you know…) Not without irony, given Michael Gira’s role with Angels of Light and Young God records. My …
Maarja Nuut – Rich Mix, London 16.05.2017
To label Maarja Nuut an Estonian folk singer and fiddler would be to hugely understate what she does and might even miss the point entirely. There’s no doubt the tunes and bluntly dark folk tales of her homeland are at the heart of her performance but there’s all manner of other musical layers, especially when accompanied …
Album Review: Colin Stetson – All This I Do For Glory
Well, this is some way from “a man shouting into a hoover bag full of saxophones”. I can’t remember who described one of the tracks from Stetson’s ‘New History Warfare: Vol 3’ in that way, but it had me scooting down the record shop. It was an accurate description of one of the tracks (Stetson …
British Sea Power – The Church, Leeds 07.04.2017
It’s odd how often you find yourself justifying liking British Sea Power. Some will roll their eyes at you and cite that they’re too odd and ‘pretentious’ – with their weird venues, stage set ups and arty side projects. Others will sigh heavily and declare them meat and potatoes indie rockers, or rail at the …
Christian Fitness – Slap Bass Hunks
Don’t worry. It’s not a record that does what it says on the tin. There is bass of course. And some of it might just be slapped on occasion. But Andy Falkous’ fourth batch of christian fitness, erm, workouts is as intriguing and thoroguhly worthwhile as its predecessors. In some ways this is the upside …
Mark Eitzel – The Greystones, Sheffield
It’s a terrific thing that one of the best songwriters and most heartfelt singers of the last four decades can come and play the back room of a local pub. Much as he’s sticking to the water this evening, it’s hardly an incongruous venue for Mark Eitzel though – so many of the characters in …
Album Review: Meursault – I Will Kill Again
When artists operate under different names, it can often be more obvious to them than to the listener what the difference is. And while Neil Pennycook’s sojourn as Supermoon wasn’t necessarily a radical departure (with some songs evolving across guises), his return to Meursault and a fuller sound helps to balance out the careful elements …