Folk
ALBUM REVIEW: Fair Mothers – ‘In Monochrome’: marrow-deep dark-folk truth and nuance
THE OCCULT poet, painter and writer Ithell Colqohoun advanced the premise in her book, The Living Stones of Cornwall, that your local geology births you as much as nurture and nature. She felt that the granite of West Cornwall gave rise to a certain hardened, otherworldly, stoicism. And you can see a certain geology at …
Track: Decoration Day release the beautiful folk of Sadness in Disguise
Out on September 18th is Makeshift Future, the debut album from Toronto folk band Decoration Day and from it the band has released a new single, Sadness in Disguise. “I began writing Sadness in Disguise during a period of depression, and finished it in the midst of deep grief for a loved one dying,” explains multi-instrumentalist Tiffany Wu. “During …
SEE: Siv Jakobsen – ‘A Feeling Felt Or A Feeling Made’: folk as delicate as a bee’s wing
NORWEGIAN folk auteur Siv Jakobsen is possessed of this tremendous, fragile voice which also has astonishing power. Today she has released a video for the beautiful, lamenting delicacy of “A Feeling Felt Or A Feeling Made”, in which she explores the way we react emotionally; are we true with our feelings, or do we sometimes …
Track: Ben Harper And Rhiannon Giddens reveal Nick Drake cover ‘Black Eyed Dog’
Two of Blues / Folk / Americana’s standouts, Ben Harper and Rhiannon Giddens have collaborated together for the first time on their own version of Nick Drake’s ‘Black Eyed Dog’. “Rhiannon and I are both black purveyors of American roots music, and while this is not an anomaly, it is an exception within a subculture,” …
Track: Joshua Burnside Returns With A Hypnotic Single ‘And You Evade Him/Born in the Blood’
Three years after the release of his award-winning debut album ‘Ephrata’, Joshua Burnside has returned to announce the release of his follow up album ‘Into The Depths Of Hell’ due 4th of September. An absurdist examination at the suffering humans inflicts on each other every day and the innate human condition that demands we find …
EP REVIEW: Devendra Banhart – ‘Vast Ovoid’: bursting with ideas
DEVENDRA BANHART was one of the main beneficiaries of the American acid-folk explosion just after the turn of the century. He came in as part of that movement with bands like Vetiver and Espers and became almost the George Best of the movement: piratically handsome with that dusky hair and huge hoop earrings, a brace …
Daniel Blumberg releases three new tracks ahead of album
Daniel Blumberg’s 2018 release ‘Minus’ never drew the recognition it deserved. A profound record of late Scott Walkeresque scale with songs balanced on an improvisational high wire, it was a massive leap from the indie noise gaze of his former bands Cajun Dance Party and Yuck. Now Blumberg is offering the next instalment of his …
TRACK: Fair Mothers’ ‘Monochrome’ is unflinching, stark and so beautiful
YOU’LL never be able to accuse Kevin Allan, the creative force behind Scottish folk outfit Fair Mothers, of dashing off a quick, vapid pop hit for the lulz. That isn’t to say he isn’t capable – the musicianship he presents is deep and adept; but whereas for some music is a career, for Kevin, it’s …
EP: Coma Wall – Ursa Minor
With little else to do beyond staring at a wall and quietly losing the plot during a global pandemic, Undersmile has done what many of us have done to keep sane – they’ve indulged in a little nostalgia, headed up to the attic and had a dig through their archives. Presumably, somewhere in the dark …
Track: Native Harrow release new single ‘Shake ahead of forthcoming ‘Closeness’ album
For over 20 years the Loose label has built its canny reputation on sifting out the best Americana and alt.country for your listening pleasure. The Felice Brothers, Sturgill Simpson, The Handsome Family, Hurray for the Riff-Raff have all passed through their doors and now it looks like Native Harrow, The Pennsylvania duo of Devin Tuel …