Folk
Not Forgotten: Jethro Tull – Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll : Too Young to Die
Frequently disregarded by their fans as an attempt by bandleader and benign dictator Ian Anderson to simplify the Jethro Tull sound, Too Old to Rock ’n’ Roll: Too Young to Die is in some senses one of their most interesting works. Wedged between the band’s grandiose work of the early 70s, and their late 70s …
Soundtrack of our lives: Hattie Briggs
All 12,300 tickets for the 51st Cambridge Folk Festival were snapped up again this year with fans flocking to enjoy the likes of Joan Baez, Wilko Johnson, Passenger, Joan Armatrading and festival favourites the Proclaimers amongst others. Alongside these dyed-in-the-wool legends of the melody and the song was a young lady called Hattie Briggs who …
Album Review: Small Feet – From Far Enough Away Everything Sounds Like the Ocean
From Far Enough Away Everything Sounds Like the Ocean is the debut album from Stockholm trio Small Feet, aka Simon Stalhamre (vocals/guitar) alongside Jacob Snavely (bass) and drummer Christopher Cantillo. Essentially a vehicle for Stalhamre’s songwriting, it’s been a long time coming as the bands focal figure battled demons, learning English from the TV after …
See: Siv Jakobsen unveils video for “Caroline”
Following on from the release of her EP, The Lingering in May, Norwegian singer songwriter Siv Jakobsen has released the video for the track Caroline. Siv herself explains about the video: “The following song is a fictional story about a transgender male. We have chosen to visualize it through the eyes of our trans-feminine friend …
Premiere: The Gildings – Sweet Lady of the gently rolling plains
The Gildings is the moniker of singer songwriter Edmund Cottam, who hails from (broadly, at least) the North West and makes this striking baroque folk music. We’re very proud here at Backseat Mafia to premiere his new track Sweet Lady of the gently rolling plains, taken from his forthcoming debut album, The Twisting Vine, due …
Not Forgotten – Marty Robbins – Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
Prior to hearing Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, if you’d told me that I’d get into an album of songs about the American wild west, I’d have said that that was about as likely as me winning a beauty contest. These things have a nasty habit of surprising you though, and so it proved when …
See: N. Lannon releases new video for “Endless Night”
Sometime Film School guitarist N. Lannon aka Nyles Lannon has recently released his third solo album, Falling Inside, and eclectic mix of electro-folk onto which Lannon has added samples from old Persian records and his guitar recorded backwards, as well as a liberal smattering of 808 kick bass. From it, the San Francisco based singer-songwriter …
Not Forgotten – Bob Dylan – Planet Waves
Over looked, underrated and generally seen as a lesser work due to the fact it wasn’t recorded in the 60s or Blood on the Tracks, Planet Waves is one of those albums that you eventually buy when you see it cheap in a sale. This is a little unfair as it’s actually one of Bob …
New Music : Chris Darby’s “Don’t Look Back”
The Chicago-based singer/songwriter Chris Darby first hit my radar back in late 2014. A friend and music aficionado in her own right had invited me to the big city of Fort Wayne to come see Mr. Darby play a small, intimate show. I wasn’t able to attend the show, but said friend and generally pretty …
Album Review: Dar Williams – Emerald
Dar Williams’ music professes a great deal of heart; there’s little doubt for the listener that this songwriter sees and feels keenly, and wants to communicate her observations and conclusions. On her most recent release, and my first brush with her since 1996’s ‘Mortal City’, the most noticeable change is in Williams’ voice which seems to …