Folk
Not Forgotten: Marty Robbins – More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
Such is the high regard that 1959’s Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs is held, that the fact that the late great Marty Robbins released another 43 albums in his lifetime (and a further two posthumously) is often overlooked.Perhaps inevitably, the snappily titled More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, is not dissimilar to Robbin’s best known …
Maarja Nuut – Rich Mix, London 16.05.2017
To label Maarja Nuut an Estonian folk singer and fiddler would be to hugely understate what she does and might even miss the point entirely. There’s no doubt the tunes and bluntly dark folk tales of her homeland are at the heart of her performance but there’s all manner of other musical layers, especially when accompanied …
Album Review : Mac Demarco’s ‘This Old Dog’
Mac Demarco is a hard one to put your finger on. On his last two albums 2 and Salad Days there was a definitely this vibe of a true blue singer/songwriter. He could put together these breezy, carefree tunes that brought to mind Harry Nilsson, Jonathan Richman, and even Cat Stevens. But there was this …
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 …