Folk
Live: Three Queens in Mourning, Bishop’s House Sheffield 22.10.18
The Bishop’s House more usually hosts groups of schoolkids getting a bit of history lesson. But it’s an atmospheric place for an intimate gig celebrating the songs of Will Oldham – the self-styled Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. First up, Sharron Kraus was terrific. She has a beautiful voice allied to guitar folk tunes adorned with an …
Album Review: An Early Bird – Of Ghosts and Marvels
Here at Backseat Mafia, we have been following the career of Stefano De Stefano since our very inception when he was the front man for Italian folk/rock band Pipers. He has now ventured out on his own under the moniker An Early Bird and released his first full length album ‘Of Ghosts and Marvels’. Of …
Album Review – Gregory Alan Isakov – Evening Machines
Charles Spano’s review of Damien Rice’s “O” on All Music Guide has a fantastic description of the ‘special sauce’ that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary and takes seemingly simply songs and makes them soar: “Rice is master of what critic/ranter Richard Meltzer called “the unknown tongue” – basically the musical equivalent of the “punctum” in …
Not Forgotten: Neil Young – Comes a Time
Comes A Time is generally seen as Neil Young cycling back to the more laid back sounds of the hugely successful Harvest, and is therefore one of Young’s gentlest albums by some considerable distance. Actually it’s so laid-back that it’s almost horizontal in places, which can makes for a pleasant, if not exactly engaging, listen. …
Track: Maarja Nuut and Ruum – Kuud Kuulama
Estonian violinist and modern folk artist, Maarja Nuut has a burgeoning reputation for her delicate, multi-layered and looped song constructions. Kuud Kuulama is an advance snippet from her new album Muunduja, a collaboration with compatriot Ruum, coming next month. It’s a typically beautiful and haunting piece. Live, Nuut often embellishes her songs with electronics and …
Premiere: Candythief reveal video for Today
Since emerging on seminal Scottish label Fence (King Creosote, Pictish Trail) in 2006, Diana De Cabbarus, aka Candythief, has released a succession of critically acclaimed records with a distinctly Alt/Folk/Psych vibe, culminating in this years third full length album, ‘Imaginary Medals’. Latest track ‘Today’, continues in that vein, accompanied by this dazzling animated video, premiered …
TRACK: Jim Clements – Not a Lot of Blood
Hugely under-heralded Canadian songwriter Jim Clements issues the fourth of his highly occasional albums -A Failure – next month. Not A Lot of Blood is the first track released to the world. Typically, the wan prettiness of the tune drapes a light veil over a smart and ruefully humorous lyric. It’s a fine song but, …
EP Review : Katherine Priddy – Wolf
Singer-Songwriter Katherine Priddy has already had an amount of success with her self recorded and self-produced “Old Tree Sessions” series of CDs. Now she releases a studio recording… Wolf is an EP of 4 original tracks, departing from the Old Tree Session cover tracks. A familiar presence at Moseley Folk Festival and local folk gigs in Birmingham, …
Album Review: Jethro Tull – 50 for 50
50 for 50 is the new 3CD career-spanning collection released to celebrate 50 years of Jethro Tull, and I just so happen to be a big Jethro Tull fan. But I just don’t ‘get’ it. Tull’s 20th anniversary in 1988 was marked by a tour, a TV documentary, and a lavishly packaged 3CD box set …
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – A Passion Play
Jethro Tull had made their point with Thick as a Brick. Progressive rock simply didn’t have to be overblown and pompous, it could be cheeky, subversive, and (dare I say it) fun. Having successfully lampooned the genre with stunning results resulting in an album which was far better than the majority who took this sort …