Abi Wade – Heavy Heart/Faker Often compared to Joanna Newsom and Regina Spektor, cellist-percussionist Wade suffers the same pitfalls as those kindred spirits in that the germ of a great idea can be lost in excessive quirkiness. ‘Faker’ is the…
Category: Reviews
Live | Staves @ Village Underground, London
The Staves appeared quietly confident as they took to the stage on the second night of their headline tour, and who can blame them after touring with Bon Iver and that much-talked-about show at Wembley Arena last week. The band,…
New Bands Panel | BRNS – Wounded
This week our writers get their heads around the intriguing prospect of Belgian four-piece BRNS (pronounced ‘brains’), who veer between all kinds of different styles. Could they be Belgium’s answer to Alt-J? Here’s what FFS has to say…. Rosy Ross: I…
Album | The Cairo Gang – The Corner Man
Emmett Kelly is, to all intents and purposes, the only permanent gang member and since a debut album under that name in 2006 has put out only an impossible to find follow-up, a solitary EP and a collaboration with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. The latter, the occasionally fantastic Wondershow of the World, was certainly not time wasted, but The Corner Man is too deeply felt and too thoroughly delivered to be the work of a regular sidekick.
Live | Andrew Bird @ The Roundhouse, London
Not enough people have heard of Andrew Bird. But if you’re one of the people who haven’t, don’t worry yourself about it; you now have an enormous, folky heap of wonderful music to sink into. Bird has a degree in…
Album | Musical Charis – Fool$ Gold
Sacramento’s Musical Charis have created a little gem of a record with Fool$ Gold. Knowing how lovely the band are (not many bands open their own music school for their community!), I was willing for this album to be good.…
Album | Richard Walters – Regret Less
Richard Walters returns with the fantastic Regret Less. Having already become a feature on American prime-time shows like Grey’s Anatomy, released brilliantly received albums and wowed many an audience with his music, it is surprising but welcome that the Oxford-based…
Live | Gabby Young and Other Animals @ Bush Hall, 15th November 2012
Bounding onto the ornate stage like some extra feature from a Baz Lurhmann DVD, Gabby Young and Other Animals grabbed this Bush Hall audience by its collective furry lapels and made them spill Red Stripe all over each other. Launching…
Album | Jo Mango – Murmuration
Given that it’s six years since Jo Mango released her debut album Paperclips and Sand, we can imagine a fair few listeners will be discovering this Scottish songbird for the first time with sophomore release Murmuration. It’s not like she’s…
Album | The Unthanks – Diversions Volume III: Songs from the Shipyards
If there’s one thing The Unthanks can do really well, it’s evoke images of a northern yesteryear. In this latest offering from the sisters and their band, they rework folk songs by the likes of Graeme Miles, Alex Glasgow and…