Folk
Track: Joe Innes and the Cavalcade – Little Rabbit
Ever think that pop needs more politics? Joe Innes and the Cavalcade are back with their 2nd single, “Little Rabbit”, and a sound that the band are calling “Post-Brexit Indie”. An intriguing blend of cynicism backed with a jaunty beat, and an insanely catchy trumpet hook: “Who gets a pension, who gets detention? we’ll let the …
Album Review: Laura Marling – Semper Femina
By Pete Wilding It bears reminding ourselves – however disconcerting it might be – that Laura Marling has just turned 27. Nine years of unique, personal creativity on a broad canvas have passed since the release of Alas, I Cannot Swim. Critics have always been quick to admire Marling’s maturity, both in song and in …
Premiere: Dominic Waxing Lyrical releases new video for ‘Susan Sontag’, plus UK tour dates
Ahead of the release of Dominic Waxing Lyrical’s new album ‘Rural Tonic’, which drops on 21st April via Tenement Records, we’re delighted to premiere the new video for his new single ‘Sunsan Sontag’. The Edinburgh based poet, otherwise known as Dominic Harris and his ever changing line up of collaborators this time features both his …
Album Review: Alasdair Roberts – Pangs
Authenticity is one of the great over-rated qualities in music. But there’s no harm in a bit of study and knowledge. Alasdair Roberts’ route into recording might have been through passing a tape to Will Oldham, but that doesn’t stop him having a more traditional edge than many of his contemporaries and collaborators. Recorded with …
Track: Alexander Wolfe – I can’t get to sleep
By Pete Wilding Alexander Wolfe has really dig deep for the first teaser from his yet-to-be announced fourth solo album, a raw but thoroughly engaging testimony of the debilitating effects of depression. If that sounds, well, a little depressing, Wolfe manages a kind of musical oxymoron – the difficult, important subject matter leavened by an …
Album Review: Julian Cope – Drunken Songs
Few artists can claim to have ploughed such a rich and bizarre furrow as Julian Cope. From scouse-pop Smash Hits pin-up, calling at Scott walker acid casualty, via stone(d) circle antiquarian, Krautrock stoner rocker, and ending up as some kind of grizzled shamanic Norse god biker Jim Morrison. His various guises have oft confounded loyal …
Album review: Phat Bollard – Brew for the Barrowman
For those not in the know Phat Bollard are a Cornish folk band that spend their days busking on the streets, going from city to city. They’re more at home playing on the streets than being in a studio or playing actual gigs. The result of a successful crowd funding campaign Brew for the Barrowman …
Classic Album: Jethro Tull – Songs From the Wood
The rise of punk triggered a wide variety of reactions among more established acts. Led Zeppelin nodded in approval, and continued to be Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd channelled their own disenfranchised feelings into the bleak Animals. A few other acts underwent underwent various identity crises, with some attempting to go ‘pop’ with mixed success (Emerson, …
Track: Jesse Jo Stark – Driftwood
With the combination of a peacefully constructed composition and lyrics that show elements of a country inspired noir tale; ‘Driftwood’ by Jesse Jo Stark is an equally haunting and captivating song to listen to. Wonderfully performed with an excellent use of subtlety, it focuses on telling its story through an almost euphoric haze that feels …
Live Review: Tift Merritt at The Lexington, London, 31.1.2017
On this last day in January, with the rain pouring down in the cloying cold outside, upstairs at the Lexington is snug. There’s a dampness in the air as we all warm the wet off each other. The chill that settled into our skin and bones gradually dries away, eased out as Tift Merritt and …