folk albums
Album Review: Peter Nordberg, Om man inte är här
Peter Nordberg puts his acoustic guitar to one side and fills your mind with detailed electronic soundscapes you can’t help but explore. It is not easy reviewing music when the lyrics aren’t in your native language. But music transcends the spoken languages communicating with you through tonal variations of vocals and instruments, timbre (musical texture), …
Album Review: William Tyler : Modern Country
William Tyler doesn’t make music as much as he paints aural landscapes. There’s a vast space within his records as a solo musician. The former Lambchop guitarist -over the course of three studio LPs- has created a musical world of dusty fields, endless horizons, and open roads that seem to never end. On his newest …
Album Review: Nick Worrall – Hero Buffet
If you’ve ever been bored by a “best” new album or track and said, “I bet there’s someone in a shed somewhere making better music than this,” it turns out that this hyperbolic assertion is actually true. I have found the shed. The occupant of the shed, located in rural Norfolk, is unsigned singer-songwriter Nick …
Album Review: Damien Jurado – Visions of Us on the Land
Damien Jurado is one of the most interesting musicians working today. He may not think that, but he’s a modest guy. Jurado’s not the kind of artist that sits around thinking about how interesting he is. But take my word for it Damien, you are very interesting. Ever since he began his musical partnership with …
Album Review: Ben Abraham – Sirens
There have been several moments in reviewing this album where I have wanted to give it a ‘6’. ‘Sirens’ has a warm, lush sound, and the straightforwardness of his delivery and songs suggest a singer-songwriter that believes in his material. You feel like this guy’s alright. Surely he’s better than a ‘5’ ? But that’s not …
Album Review: Treetop Flyers – Palomino
I don’t know if it’s about getting older and wanting to ensure that I spend my time only listening to what I really like, or just a shorter attention span. Thing is, I’ve not got as much space to allow music to settle. Maybe that’s unfair. That’s just how it is, though. Ok ? So if …
Album Review : The Skiffle Players : Skifflin’
The Skiffle Players are possibly the first skiffle supergroup in 60 years. A group of west coast alt.country notables, featuring Cass McCombs, Neal Casal, Dan Horne, Aaron Sperske, and “Farmer” Dave Scher. Names familiar to people who have listened to Beachwood Sparks, the Cardinals (ex backing band to Ryan Adams and Gin Wigmore), and various solo …
Album Review: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Pond Scum
We’ve a lot to thank John Peel for. When he died I remember feeling the shock as if he were a family member almost, rather than a radio host I had never met. But the legacy he left, especially in terms of the mountains of sessions recorded as part of his show, remains a resource …
Album Review: Turin Brakes – Lost Property
To me Turin Brakes are like an old friend I’ve lost regular touch with over the years that I bump into in my local one evening. We’ve not seen each other for a while, but after some initial awkwardness, we end up having one of those nights out that sticks in your memory and reminds …
Album Review: Villagers – Where Have You Been All My Life?
I liked Villagers from the moment my friend Susie slipped their debut album into her car CD player as she gave me a lift to the train station one lunchtime in early 2011. The fact that they were effectively a him (Conor O’Brien), that he / they were signed to the ever-dependable Domino Records and …