Folk
See: Thomas Dollbaum arrives fully formed with the Carveresque folk-blues of ‘Florida’
BORN and brought up in somewhere he notes as being Nowhere, Florida – trouble is indeed, a lonesome town – and currently using the musculature god blessed him with as a construction worker in New Orleans, Thomas Dollbaum has brought his sights to bear upon the world of music with an absolute heart-wrencher of a …
Album Review: String duo Balladeste shine with sublime ‘Beyond Breath’
Balladeste are string duo Tara Franks ( cello) and Preetha Narayanan ( violin). Their much anticipated sophomore album, ‘Beyond Breath’ was released earlier this year in October 2021 to rave reviews, and quite frankly , it’s really no surprise. A reflective collection of new compositions taking inspiration from a set of Indian devotional songs from the …
See: C Duncan brings the hymnal delicacy of ‘The Wedding Song’ to end the year – watch the animated lyric video
DELICATE Glaswegian songsmith C Duncan has doubled down on the glitter of last month’s single, “Alluvium”, with just one more song to round off the year and to keep you abreast of happenings connected with his next album, due in the new year on Bella Union. The track is called “The Wedding Song” and it’s romantic, …
Live Review: Dani Larkin / Brona Keogh – Upstairs Whelans, Dublin 5.12.2021
Ian said:“Tonight i was back at Upstairs Whelan’s to see Dani Larkin, one of Irelands most exciting artists emerging on the contemporary and alt folk scene. Opening the night with a short set was Brona Keogh who, while in-between songs, would get lost in her own conversations. These proved to be quite funny, really warming …
See: Beans on Toast leads us in a celebration of what it means to be ‘Humans’; he’s on tour, too
WITH his new album of acoustic optimism, Survival Of The Friendliest, out as of Friday gone and the first leg of a tour crisscrossing the islands already under way, London troubadour Beans on Toast has brought us one final single of homespun warmth, with a video starring Beans, his wife Lizzy Bee and daughter Wren …
Premiere: Eucereon releases the beautiful melancholic indie-folk of ‘Go’
UK/US based indie folk singer, songwriter and producer Eucereon has unveiled her new single ‘Go’. – written in Denmark, produced in the UK and released in the US, and we’re delighted to be able to premiere it right here on Backseat Mafia this morning. Of the track, Eucereon says “Go is about codependency masquerading as …
EP: The delicately beautiful ‘Creatures of Habit’ from Brisbane artist Aren’t is an exquisite triumph. Plus news of launch date.
On aesthetics alone, the artwork for Aren’t‘s new EP ‘Creatures Of Habit’ (illustrated by Grace Taylor) is extraordinarily beautiful. Fittingly, the illustrations have a joyous emotional warmth and fragility that is a palimpsest for the shimmering songs within, reflecting the stunning music within. Aren’t is Fionn Richards – last seen in Brisbane band Requin which burned brightly …
Live Review: The Levellers / Peat & Diesel / Maelor Hughes, Manchester Academy 26.11.2021
Unfortunately, the perils of the M62 and the dreaded Pennines scuppered my chances of making it to the Academy in time to catch the opener, Maelor Hughes, on the bill tonight. When I did arrive, I was met with a sea of Leveller’s shirts, ranging from the early nineties right through to the present day, …
Live Review: Skinny Lister / The Longest Johns – Glasgow, King Tuts 27.11.2021 plus Gallery
One of the surprise joys of lockdown was the emergence of sea shanties which, with the help of the TikTok generation, went viral. Skinny Lister invited The Longest Johns on their current UK tour and the gig in Glasgow at King Tuts was as raucous as you would expect. The added ingredient was the fact …
Track: Swoon for the Mediterranean cafe romance of Violetta Zironi & Ed Prosek’s ‘Come What May’
VIOLETTA ZIRONI is a delicate and lovely cantate from Correggio, in northern Italy’s Po Valley; she’s been releasing digital singles and EPs for nine years or so. More recently she’s been working with guitarist Ed Prosek to produce airy and sunshine-filled lovers’ cafe jazz; music to fall head over heels to on the Adriatic coast. …