I had hopes for this album from Great Lake Swimmers, mostly due to this song, which is magical when played in velvety darkness. They’re a perfect lullaby band, beautiful, lush, soothing, though sometimes in danger of being a bit vanilla (then again – plenty of people like vanilla). They do peace and happiness brilliantly;...
Oh my, oh my. A new Richard Hawley album is always something to get excited about, but Sheffield’s most restless talent has really excelled himself this time. Whereas each of his solo records to date have delivered a stark beauty, a spare sound full of space and longing, new record Standing At The Sky’s...
Tales From The Barrel House is much as you would expect from a Seth Lakeman album. His old folks tales and traditional themes are punctuated by frequent fiddle breaks and often punchy drums. Often minimalist instrumentation allows Lakeman’s strong vocals and fiddle playing to lead the way. There is a sense of space running...
The former drummer of the Felice Brothers and the brains behind The Duke & the King, Simone Felice’s first solo record arrives weighted with expectation. There are moments of the brilliance of both outfits in this eponymous debut, recorded with Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons who also features on backing vocals. Felice has been...
Rhode Island is no doubt meant to be a clarion call to their youth, a reliving of the bad old days of getting drunk, picking up chicks and telling stories about it afterwards.
Whilst not as dense or treacle-thick as previous Shearwater records, Animal Joy is just as intricately layered, and manages to be peculiarly exhilerating in spite of its persistently shadowy subject matter. Opener ‘Animal Life’ anchors the album’s loose thread of animal vs. industrial influences on our magnificent, messy race. Disconection is key: events and...
There will always be a place in my heart for keening melodies played on acoustic guitar, and soaring close-harmony vocals. Some might baulk that music like this fails to push boundaries: others, the folk purists, (generally the most militant of listeners) that the effect is too mainstream, too influenced by pop. If hit-makers aren’t...
If Justin Townes Earle’s young career reached its peak to date with 2010′s Harlem River Blues, the follow-up offers us a note of caution. For all the fine work he’d done in separating himself from the considerable burdens that follow him around – the weight of his father’s surname and the middle name he...
Six months on from the UK release of Little Me Will Start A Storm, Chemikal Underground asked Portland’s Loch Lomond to record a short EP of fresh material to help push their European tour. Maybe they expected something simple to come back in such a short space of time, but what they got instead...
The constituent members of Fleet Foxes come from such a rich heritage of previous bands, solo efforts and general musical immersion that it seems a little disingenuous to call Poor Moon a side project, not least because two of the members have nothing to do with Fleet Foxes at all. That said, when your...
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