Author: For Folk's Sake

Album | Laura J Martin – The Hangman Tree

The eagerly awaited debut album from Laura J Martin promises much, and on first listen, (and second and third…) The Hangman Tree certainly delivers. At a time when female folk-based singer-songwriters are enjoying something of a renaissance, it would be…

Album | Darren Hayman – January Songs

Just over a year ago, Darren Hayman embarked on an ambitious songwriting project – a new song every day for a whole month, original compositions – written, recorded and online by midnight or he’d turn into a pumpkin and calamity…

Album | Jim Moray – Skulk

When Jim Moray’s last album came out in 2010, I featured it in the new release section of a folk music show I then hosted on student radio. Lively, complex and with all sorts of ideas and stylings from popular…

Album | Dear Reader – Idealistic Animals

Hands up, who amongst us can name a South African band making waves in the indie scene? You? Me? No, didn’t think so. It might feel awfully lonely standing in a crowd of one, where the association of yourself with…

Live | Ani DiFranco @ Brighton Concorde 2

Ani DiFranco has been through enough re-inventions and reincarnations over the last two decades to give David Bowie a run for his money.From her debut as a wide-eyed, shaven-headed 20-year-old, through the tortured, angsty mid-90s and into a more mellow…

Album | Laura Gibson – La Grande

To say Laura Gibson could’ve stepped out of a sepia photograph circa 1880 is also to give to a fair indication of how her music sounds. There’s something curiously anachronistic about her musical sensibilities, a quality that permeates her third…

Album | James Deane – Diamonds & Hearts

On his debut album Diamonds & Hearts, James Deane demonstrates his remarkable abilities as an arranger. The music is simply beautiful, and his masterful way of delivering it adds heaps of warmth and intensity. It seems clear that he is…

EP | Joseph & David – Rise Up The Sun

Joseph & David stand at a crossroads. There’s enough impressive stuff happening on Rise Up The Sun, the second EP from the Leeds duo to suggest a bright future is all but inevitable. Quite where that future lies is slightly…

Interview | For Folk’s Sake meets First Aid Kit

First Aid Kit are born performers. As I’m ushered through Bush Hall past the photos of the golden greats past and present, and into the Green Room which has seen the presence of Amy Winehouse, REM, Alanis Morrisette, Feist, Regina Spektor and many…

Album | Ben Calvert & The Swifts – Festive Road

This debut offering from Ben Calvert and crew is an accomplished collection of easy-listening tracks that is a worthy addition to any folk enthusiast’s library. Short opener ‘Paperbox’ is a stripped-back, quality acoustic number, serving as a perfect ‘one-man-and-his-guitar’ introduction.…