For Folk's Sake » Reviews

Album | First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar

Joe Skrebels — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:30:28 +0000

“There’s nothing new under the sun / All that will happen has already begun”

Sometimes you don’t need to say a lot to get a point across. In this simple couplet from the dark, tidal ‘Dance To Another Tune’, First Aid Kit acknowledge the entire problem of their second album. On the other hand, just as the song it comes from suddenly breaks into a sun-dappled reverie, that very acknowledgement reveals the album’s greatest strength by the same token.

But perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise; First Aid Kit have always been a paradoxical band. As a folk act, stereotypes immediately flash up – pastoral Britain or Midwestern America, obscure studio locations, analogue recordings. But then you realise that these are two sisters from a Stockholm suburb who became famous through what was essentially a viral campaign things don’t seem to add up. The solution then, is that the Söderberg sisters don’t struggle to make them add up, they just make the troublesome equation seem irrelevant by being supremely talented mimics.

After a first album undertaken more or less by themselves, Johanna and Klara recruited a band and set about making an album that sounds like every single one of their heroes – and they’re telling their audience throughout. Ranging from the overt, in ‘Emmylou’s name checking of the couples of folk’s past (“June” and “Johnny” for example), to the more oblique, with the tragically upbeat Mitchell-isms of ‘Blue’, and the frankly speculative (it’s perhaps unlikely that they’re bemoaning the absence of new Antipodean throwback rock albums as they sing “Wolf mother, where you been?”), this is an album packed with nods, winks and homage to those they borrow from as they go along.

Frankly, this would be a problem if it wasn’t made clear that this was the point, but as you take in the sheer flair of the blustering title track or the sparse, magnificent echoes of ‘New Years Eve’, it doesn’t matter anymore. In fact, it’s ultimately jarring to hear “Stockholm’s cold but I’ve been told I was born to endure this kind of weather”, because it becomes so easy to sink into the warm fantasy world the band have created. As if as testament to their validity, some recognisable folk heroes turn up to endorse the band with their talents on the final track as The Felice Brothers and Conor Oberst lend their weight to ‘King of the World’.

Ultimately, that idea that “there’s nothing new under the sun” is First Aid Kit’s greatest boon on The Lion’s Roar. Once you accept that what you’re listening to is a knowing pastiche of all the acts the band have grown up with, it becomes much easier to accept that what they’re doing is, in many ways, just as good. The songs are wonderful, the execution perfect and, most importantly, the act seamless – this sounds just like a classic country-folk album and, when you think about it, that more or less makes it one.

Live | Hannah Peel @ Holy Trinity Church, Leeds

Ian Parker — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:06:10 +0000

With mulled wines in hand, the people of Leeds have packed into the pews of the Holy Trinity Church to hear one of their own deliver the annual Christmas service from the local Gaslight Club. Well, nearly. Hannah introduces herself and band member Laura Groves (AKA Blue Roses) as Leeds artists, then quickly corrects herself. “We’re from Shipley, really,” she says, keen to recognise the 12 miles that separate the two.

Details are important to Hannah Peel. The attention she pays them is obvious from the beautifully constructed music she makes. And her sound, both delicate and lush, seems perfect for a Christmas show. There is a fairytale quality to the likes of ‘Song For The Sea’ and ‘Don’t Kiss The Broken One’ that fits to the magic of the season and while The Broken Wave, with its full string arrangements, is hard to capture live, Hannah’s three-piece band provide all the charm required.

As freezing temperatures bite outside, she warms the cockles with a stunning rendition of ‘Solitude’, which sounds even more hauntingly beautiful in the setting of an 18th century church. There’s also an airing for ‘Regret’, introduced as a ‘new’ song six months after its debut, giving us a glimpse of the gifts 2012 may have in store as Hannah preps a second album.

Hannah’s set caps an evening of festive treats, including sets from promising locals Hunting for Bears and Me and My Friends, carols from These Men, and a joyful set from Leeds troubadour Sam Airey. But the biggest treats are reserved for the end. Hannah brings out the trademark music box to sing us her delightful take on ‘I Believe In Father Christmas’ (a video of which has found its way on to youtube) and it feels like such a fitting finale that when it’s over, she wishes us all a Merry Christmas and starts to walk off the stage. It’s left to Laura to remind her they’re supposed to finish with ‘The Almond Tree’. And what a send-off it is too, as they ramp up the already beefy electronics of the original for a full-blooded rendition that shakes this old building to its foundations.

Live | Josh T. Pearson @ The Barbican + a free Christmas download

For Folk's Sake — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:33:53 +0000

Josh T. Pearson’s Last of the Country Gentlemen was released this year to widespread acclaim, with this very website describing it as a ‘sparse, delicate and unrelenting trawl through the darker recesses of the soul’. It has found itself in the upper echelons of, if not at the top of, pretty much every ‘Best of 2011’ list, to demonstrate its appeal. With the heart-wrenchingly beautiful and devastating tracks he is equipped with, one would expect something titled ‘An Evening with Josh T. Pearson’ to be a rather serious affair, with Pearson earnest in his delivery of emotionally-charged tracks.

Not so. Josh T. Pearson instantly shattered these expectations of mine, stepping out to greet the crowd of the grand and majestic Barbican by sarcastically shouting, “What a shithole!”, before labeling the venue as “just another dive”. With the crowd already won over, he continued by making light of the stage setup, which consisted of just him, a guitar and a microphone, by jokingly stating that “the stage could be a bit bigger”.

Despite his amusing protestations, the Barbican was the perfect setting to witness Josh T. Pearson emotionally open himself up on stage. The ability of Pearson’s lengthy ballads to soothe and hush the audience is incomparable to other artists, as he gets the respect and quiet he deserves from a clearly enthralled crowd. In an instant he is able to fill the space of the large venue with just his own voice and guitar, before reducing his voice to a whisper and allowing the space to grow and linger around him, on songs such as opener ‘Sweetheart, I Ain’t Your Christ’ and ‘Woman, When I’ve Raised Hell’, giving a resonance to every word that falls from Pearson’s mouth. His guitar playing is faultless, with its intensity the perfect companion to his passionate voice.

Thankfully the prolonged songs have intervals between them, with Pearson trying out some of his best jokes to an audience egging him on. Cynically, but hilariously, he asks ‘What’s the difference between a large pizza and a musician? A large pizza can feed a family’, before delving into more biting and crude jokes. These jokes offer the chance for the audience and performer to connect, and allow a welcome break between songs, that makes each one feel just a little bit more important.

What a year it has been for Josh T. Pearson, and on the basis of this showing, deservedly so. His album is one of the finest of the year, and is even more of a tour-de-force live, as he allows the audience to be a part of his heartbreaking and emotional tracks, a part of the joy Pearson has found in the misery he once had. How stunning, how extraordinary and how soon we hope he returns to the UK.

Words: Adam Lowe

Among the many ‘Best of’ lists Josh T. Pearson has topped this year is that of Rough Trade, who are now selling a special edition of Last of the Country Gentlemen with a free Christmas EP. And for a limited time only you can download an alternate version of ‘O Holy Night’ via the link below.

Josh T. Pearson – O Holy Night by Mute UK

And if that’s got you feeling all Christmassy, don’t forget to check out our compilation For Folk’s Sake It’s Christmas 2011, which is being sold to raise money for the Integrated Cancer Centre. It features songs from The Leisure Society, Kathryn Williams, Devon Sproule, Darren Hayman Caitlin Rose and many more. For Folk’s Sake It’s Christmas 2011 is available to pre-order now from Bandcamp.

Live | Ellen & The Escapades @ The Stereo, York

Ian Parker — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:30:20 +0000

Ellen and her Escapades are finally assembled on stage and ready to play. The hum of the crowd dies down and she steps up to the microphone, takes a breath and…another song comes on the PA system. With a little shrug and a smile, Ellen retreats and strikes up another conversation amongst the band. The rest of us wait another five minutes.

But then we have become used to waiting for the Escapades. Three singles and an EP over the past two years have kept our appetites whetted, hungry but always left wanting more. At least tonight there is a sense that we’re all ready to move on to bigger things. The first chapter is closing, and the next is about to begin. This is a dress rehearsal as they give their songs one final road test before releasing the debut album early next year.

We’re hoping, in a sense, that this will be a going away party, too. Not that we want rid of the Escapades, anything but. But we’d like to see them graduate to the next level, which is where wonderfully constructed songs like ‘Without You’ and ‘Coming Back Home’ belong. Their sublime folk-pop brings the west coast sound to their West Yorkshire roots so much so that, while it might be borderline Baltic outside, it still feels like the end of summer in here. They’ve been our shared secret for a couple of years now. The time has come to watch them take flight.

Ellen & The Escapades are running a pledge drive to help get their debut album released, which you can join here.

When The Tide Creeps In by Ellen and the Escapades

Live | Summer Camp @ Liverpool Mojo 10th November 2011

For Folk's Sake — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:25:09 +0000

FFS wrote precisely one memo-to-self during this show: “Jeremy Warmsley is wearing the best shirt ever”. The review should actually end there: Mr. Summer Camp’s clothing selection alone should be enough to convince you to go see them play live. If that isn’t reason enough, you could be persuaded by all evidence pointing to them being properly lovely people, making brownies and recording audiobooks to distribute during the PledgeMusic campaign for their new album Welcome to Condale.

Except at the start of this gig, for just a minute or two, they don’t seem lovely at all. They seem a little, well, unnerving. It’s an attention-grabbing opening – Summer Camp begin ‘Better Off Without You’ in the middle of the crowd, strolling round with an acoustic guitar and no microphones. Several of the audience members seem unsure quite how to react as Elizabeth Sankey walks right up to them to accuse them of being “so annoying when you whine”.

Halfway through the track they jump up on stage, plug in the electrics and revert back to the ‘80s/futuristic sound of the recorded album. Apparently Elizabeth has a sore throat, but that doesn’t stop her belting out ‘Welcome to Condale’, ‘Round The Moon’ and ‘1988’ in quick succession.

The slick guitar / keyboard /samples, beefed up on-stage by William Bowerman’s drumming, play out against a projected backdrop of classic ‘80s movies. FFS spotted Teen Wolf, Flashdance and that one with Ricki Lake in; but was particularly impressed by ‘Veronica Sawyer’, a track describing a truly dreadful teenage party, soundtracking footage of – yes, you’ve guessed it – a hideous teenage party. Clever.

The audience revels in the performance – it’s a free gig for Liverpool Music Week, and the venue filled up about three hours before Summer Camp came on stage. There are some very trendy-looking girls and boys here, all seemingly word-perfect, and all very much up for having a good time. The tempo builds, until ‘Done Forever’, with its soaring female vocal and Chicago House vibe, leads to a bit of a sweaty mini-rave. We come down gradually, via ‘Brian Krakow’ and ‘Ghost Train’ to ‘Losing my Mind’, again performed acoustically with an endearing whistling accompaniment.

Ending the night with ‘Summer Camp’ into ‘I Want You’, it’s a confident and amusing performance. They’re touring the UK again in March, including a date at London’s Scala. Hopefully Jeremy will wear the same shirt, if we ask nicely.

Natalie Roberts

Live | The Antlers @ Koko, 10th November 2011

For Folk's Sake — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:26:58 +0000

“We want to thank you guys for being here,” says Peter Silberman as he surveys the enraptured Koko crowd. “We have no idea how we got here, and we don’t know how to get back.”

A chilly Thursday night in Camden is certainly a world away from The Antlers’ home in Brooklyn, New York, and the journey they have been on over the last few years is even more of a stretch.

Initially created as Silberman’s solo project, the three-piece have gone from putting out self-released EPs to taking centre stage at festivals and picking up a loyal fan base on both sides of the Atlantic.

This was their first UK show since the release of Burst Apart, the extraordinary follow-up to 2009’s breakthrough record Hospice.

They were supported by hotly-tipped Theme Park, who ambled on stage looking like late entries into a student union battle of the bands, before launching confidently into a series of funky, Talking Heads-style jams.

The arrival of the headline act saw the numbers swell inside cosy Koko, and FFS was forced to find a vantage point on a set of stairs in the upper circle.

But you get the impression that The Antlers would fill the most cavernous of venues, as Silberman’s mournful voice punctuated an almost unbroken wall of sound.

They have the ability to re-invent every song from its studio incarnation, to the point where it is impossible to tell which track is next until the words kick in.

Multi-instrumentalist Darby Cicci is part Jonny Greenwood, part Rick Wakeman, hair flopping over his face as he leans over banks of keyboards, pedals and gadgets that provide the band’s immensely evocative power.

‘Putting The Dog To Sleep’ was a particular high point, Silberman waltzing around cradling his guitar as if sleepwalking, while ‘Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out’ is as close as they have come to a “mainstream” rock song.

They apply the perfect finish with ‘Epilogue’, Silberman singing of “Screaming and cursing and angry and hurting/Then smiling and crying and apologising.”

The song encapsulates everything that is great about The Antlers. They wear their hearts on their sleeves, they put everything into what they do and they are not afraid of showing a bit of emotion.

They left the stage with a humble “thank you”, seemingly unable to believe that so many people had turned out just for them. They had better start getting used to it.

Sam Blackledge

Live | Ane Brun @ Manchester Deaf Institute, 8th November 2011

For Folk's Sake — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:15:47 +0000

It’s a rainy Tuesday night in Manchester, and Oxford Road is quieter than usual. Perhaps this is because everyone is in the Deaf Institute, falling a little bit in love with Ane Brun.

Weaving through the captivated crowd en route to a suitable vantage point, her spectacular voice, soft but sharp like a flute, hits me and draws me in. I congratulate myself on a well selected ‘at random’ gig.

A week ago, I knew not of Ane Brun and her mesmerising tones. Every so often, I like to see someone I have never before encountered. Unlike making your acquaintance with a musician via an album or a video, a gig binds the listener and the performer together in a collective experience. This love is reciprocal.

Illuminated in a hazy triangle of light and surrounded by a generously equipped band, she powerfully but calmly lays out the first verse of ‘The Puzzle’: “I Walked in to love / I walked into a minefield I never heard of”. The hushed beginning is soon met by a paradoxically staccato, more up tempo chorus – expressing, through both lyrics and the music, the chaos of heartbreak (“Her remains were spread out like the pieces of a puzzle/ it took her 365 days putting them together”).

Perhaps the band are attempting to break a world record for most instruments on stage at one time, or perhaps they are trying to find the one instrument that Ane cannot mimic with her voice. Either way, I am very excited by the arrival of an accordion, not to mention how well it fits with the flute, cello, keyboards (two of) , drums and sweet backing vocals.

Yomping into the liveliest portion of the gig, the percussion takes over from the more feminine harmonies of earlier offerings and Ane gets her best dance moves out for us. Dressed in exceptionally wide trousers and an equally extravagant shirt, there is quite a lot of fabric to be flounced around here. She looks well cool.

Symbols crash like a stormy sea and the sounds from the tempestuous ‘This Voice’, met with a few puffs of the smoke machine, propel us into an all together moodier moment. A few minor chords and the dink of the triangle give me a spooky chill (for this week a full moon is due, you know).

Ending (for the first time at least) with a descent into something akin to a samba, the band exchange their instruments for drum sticks and turn the volume up on the rhythmic drumming. The floor shakes beneath me.

Encores ensue – but one would expect no less from the woman who had too many songs to put on to the new album, and so made an entire B side record dedicated to the “the ones that didn’t quite make it”.

This very intimate gig, which sees her touring her new album, It All Starts With One for the first time in the UK, has commanded quite a crowd. Those who caught this tour will surely agree, we were lucky to experience Ane whilst she remains in the ‘small & intimate’ category. I don’t think she will be there for much longer…..

Nathalie Depledge

Live | Bon Iver @ Hammersmith Apollo, 24th October 2011

For Folk's Sake — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:18:52 +0000

Okay so let’s just get this straight: there is more than just one man in Bon Iver. Everyone seems fixated on Justin Vernon, frontman and “face” of the band, but seeing them live was a real eye-opener. There were nine of them. NINE. From percussionists to a bloke with a huge saxophone, Bon Iver is clearly more than just one man. Admittedly, Mr Vernon took centre stage, but it was never The-Justin-Vernon-Show… far from it.

The band are touring their eponymous second album to a crowd who don’t seem overly familiar with it. They lap up the old stuff like a comforting milky drink, but seemed to get a bit restless during newer tracks, which FFS felt was a shame.

Obviously it was classics such as ‘Skinny Love’ and ‘Wolves’ that the audience was waiting for, as a hush came over the crowd as soon as the opening chords were strummed.

FFS’s highlights were Colin Stetson’s awesome circular-breathing-fest of a solo along with the 80s-inspired album track ‘Beth/Rest’, and the beautiful horn-filled ‘Towers’.

We must admit that ‘Skinny Love’ was bloody brilliant – they cleverly found a way to include the other 8 band members in a track that is in essence just good old Justin and his guitar. Getting the rest of the gang to clap and sing in the background gave the song a touching sort of team spirit vibe… FFS saw much weeping across the circle seats. (Oddly, our personal tearjerker was ‘Flume’… started with incredibly touching solo acoustic guitar and vocals.)

Another thing: the Hammersmith Apollo have got some serious issues with circle seating… we chose to buy seated circle tickets as we imagined that a Bon Iver gig is the sort of place that you fancy a bit of a sit down whilst weeping quietly into your lap. We’re sorry to say that most of the weeping we did stemmed from the fact that we were allocated CIRCLE STANDING tickets… aka standing at the back. We wouldn’t have let this dampen our spirits if there had actually been space to stand there… due to overcrowding we opted for sitting in the aisle. ERROR.

Not only did the beer man keep parading up and down the aisle with his stupid beer backpack and flag but, for some reason, the other audience members just couldn’t sit still. This meant that some of our weeping wasn’t due to the beautiful sounds floating up to us from the stage, but due to being trampled on by brogue-footed men en-route to the toilet… not cool.

Hammersmith Apollo, we have not lost faith in you yet. The situation was salvaged by some of the best lighting FFS have seen at a gig in years (if only we could have captured this on camera… from the back) ranging from a stark theatrical wash to a multi-layered red and blue state that seriously convinced us that we were in fact watching a very talented 3D hologram rather than nine real human beings playing their hearts out.

The venue’s pros and cons aside, Bon Iver were breathtaking and beautiful, and we can’t wait to see them again (without the beer man).

Fortunately enough, there were some people at the front, and those people had cameras. Enjoy.

Emily Friend

Album | Twenty-One Crows – Sons of Liberty

Joe Skrebels — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:16:39 +0000

The oral tradition of storytelling has been with us for thousands of years. It helped strengthen communities, served as the only means of communicating important news of the day and, in its crucial role as the foundation stone of mildly popular works such as The Bible or Grimm’s Fairytales, has helped form the basis for contemporary law-making and morality codes. It seems fitting, then, that Twenty-One Crows take their role as folk musicians quite so seriously as they do. Folk music has been a form of the oral tradition for almost as long, and this Brighton four-piece are, with their debut album Sons of Liberty, attempting to bring that tradition back up to date.

With a mixture of forthright political attitudes, a grounding in history and a true sense of drama, they succeed for the most part. Their brand of sea-sprayed folk, notably almost universally backed by Rebecca Tann’s mournful accordion work, is an admirable vessel (pun most definitely intended) for their storytelling, a rich, instantly accessible sound that runs the gamut from despairing, through righteously angry and into defiance. The tremolo-heavy guitar of ‘Gone From Me’ is reminiscent of a more subdued Anna Calvi, trembling with concealed menace, whilst album closer ‘I Am Not Afraid’ provides a platform for Jon Griffin’s hefty baritone to oscillate between intimate cracks and strength to match his most evocative lyric, “there’s an edge of tempered Sheffield steel inside of me.”

There seems to be a compulsion to imbue each song with a sense of mood that matches the story being told, but this need is not without its faults. The two most overtly political songs on the album become severely heavy-handed in parts, with ‘Guantanamo Blues’ message being let down somewhat by overwrought stabs of noise and the opening clarion call of “Guantanamo Bay / Hey hey hey hey”. ‘A Night in the Life’, a criticism of Western governments’ motivations in the Middle East, suffers a similar fate, with the characterisation of the Prime Minister as a poodle a little too close to the aural equivalent of a hackneyed newspaper cartoon. But it serves its purpose with regard to counterpointing the following song, an epic ode to those whose lives were lost at the Battle of Bazentin Ridge during World War I.

‘A Tale of High Wood’ is the most ambitious – and possibly most successful – song on the album, a true vindication of the folk storytelling form the band are aiming for. Questionable flageolet work aside, this is a song that merits the tale it tells, rising and falling with each new event and making for a truly gripping piece of work. Unlike so much music today, this album was not made to be inclusive – this is not meant to be a transcendent experience. Rather, this is a musical form that constantly impresses itself on the listener, forces them to pay attention, examine events and, most crucially for the storyteller, always leaves them wanting to hear the end. Twenty-One Crows may be revisiting the past without the intent to modify it, a practice often frowned upon by the modern music press, but they do so with the best of intentions – Sons of Liberty is, by and large, a consistently interesting and affecting listen, that succeeds on its own terms.

Live | Wilco @ The Roundhouse, 28th October 2011

For Folk's Sake — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:52:18 +0000

The Roundhouse is a wonderful venue to see any band. The acoustics generated from the Victorian railway shed that once contained a train turntable generates a rich, well-rounded sound that rivals any of its London competitors.

Support act Jonathan Wilson made the most of the acoustics to deliver an accomplished set which featured up to 5 guitarists on stage at one time. His blissed-out, mellow songs had legs, that is to say they all ended in a three minute jam. Stand out track ‘Desert Raven’ was reminiscent of a heavy-loaded Crowded House. Seeing is believing:

Moving on to the main event – Wilco delivered a full set of their George Harrison-infused back catalogue of alt-country indie rock. The stand out tracks came from their seminal album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but their full depth of sound made every song a treat. New tracks from recent release The Whole Love went down well with a crowd heavy with old time fans.

The set moved through the slow and steady, swelling into bigger numbers that kept The Roundhouse pulsing for a set that nearly reached two hours long, proving that Wilco not only have a long history behind them, but will still be running well into the coming decade.

On a final note, this female FFS reviewer is not ashamed to admit to taking some small pleasure in seeing a real rarity – not on the stage, but in the queues for the gents toilets coming out the door and wrapping round the corner. Thanks guys, for bringing your boy mates and leaving your girlfriends at home, allowing those few ladies in the crowd to breeze by on the way to the loo with just a tiny smirk on our faces.

Mary Liggins

For Folk's Sake » Reviews

Album | First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar

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