If Georgia Ruth needed an angle to stand out from the crowd, she has it in her instrument of choice. Harpists are in short supply these days, with the only other one that springs to mind being Joanna Newsom, and the Californian already comes loaded with so many other wonderful quirks that she can...
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First things first, Joyce The Librarian is one of my favourite names for a band in a while, and that was before I discovered the Stilgoe & Skillern song of a sex-starved book lender they got it from. And it seems a fitting moniker too, because there is a literary quality to the Bristol...
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In the circles I generally move in, the name Jim White refers to Sky Sports News’ rabid transfer-window hype-klaxon and professional Scotsman. In contrast to his namesake’s transfer deadline-day rabble-rousing, though, this Jim White is a musically understated southern American with gentle nuances to offer. This is his fifth studio album in addition to...
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In the introduction to his lyrics collection Mother, Brother, Lover, published last year, unofficial national treasure Jarvis Cocker said his goal had always been to “create the kind of pop music I wished had been there for me in my hour of need”. And growing up, that’s how Pulp were for me. ‘Common People’...
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Despite announcing its arrival with a wave of lush waves, the latest album from Americana veterans Lambchop delivers understatement as a theme. From the descriptions of the banal realities of relationships (cleaning the coffee maker and avoiding ‘talking about seagulls’ are examples) to the low key vocal delivery and cool jazz arrangements, the record...
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Perfume Genius seemed to emerge from nowhere in June 2010 as debut LP Learning made a quiet but marked impact on those who heard it. Mike Hadreas’ stark and revealing lyrics came from an unsettling, dark place, and were coupled with a home-recorded feel in production, making for a record that lingered long in...
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Few artists to have been covered by our New Bands Panel have brought about as good a reaction as Gibson Bull, so we were excited to hear a new track from him this week. The London singer-songwriter has started work on a new EP, but in the meantime he’s sent us this demo version...
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Suffolk is rarely thought of as a centre of gospel and blues music but from this low-lying county come The Way Home, who seem as they might instead have been raised on the Mississippi Delta. On their debut release The Ship EP, Amy Beskin and the band unleash a sound not unlike that of...
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From the offset, Twin Beds lulls you into a false sense of security. Chirruping percussion contrasts to a swirling and dreamy rhythm on opener ‘Twin Beds (one)’, before ‘For Esme’ opens with a blast of trumpet, giving birth to a rollicking song that constantly changes pace and direction amidst myriad ideas. It is this...
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Anais Mitchell wrote one of my favourite albums of recent years, majestic folk opera Hadestown. When FFS spoke to her about that incredible album, she told us that her next project was to be an album of old folk songs. And in some ways that’s what Young Man in America is. Although all the songs...
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