Author: Ian Parker

Ian is For Folk's Sake's reviews editor. Find him on Twitter @iparky.

Album | Caitlin Rose – Cazimi

When Caitlin Rose burst on to the scene in 2010 with her delightful debut album Own Side Now, followed up soon after with The Stand-In, her star instantly shone bright. Rave reviews heralded the arrival of a powerful new voice,…

Album | Arny Margret – They Only Talk About The Weather

Ísafjörður must be a strange place to grow up. Almost six hours north of Reykjavik on the Westfjord peninsula of Iceland, it is a remote and dramatic landscape, one where tall mountains can block out the sun for several months…

Album | The Unthanks – Sorrows Away

I’ve got an unsent greeting card sat on the side which reads “I heard you’ve been watching a lot of news lately so here’s a card with a comforting duck on it”. I’ve not sent it to anyone yet because…

Album | Alela Diane – Looking Glass

Alela Diane’s sixth studio album was born in a storm – more than one, in fact. There was the thunderstorm in Mexico, which knocked out the power as Diane wrote the opening track ‘Paloma’. “In the black of night/I wouldn’t…

Album | Bonny Light Horseman – Rolling Golden Holy

When Bonny Light Horseman – the band formed by songwriter Anais Mitchell, producer Josh Kaufman and the original Fruit Bat Eric D. Johnson – delivered their self-titled debut album in 2020 it was easy to imagine it was a one-off.…

Album | Courtney Marie Andrews – Loose Future

“I am ready for a change,” Courtney Marie Andrews sings on ‘Older Now’, the second song on new album Loose Futures. Two years after winning widespread acclaim – and a Grammy nomination – for her bittersweet break-up album Old Flowers,…

Album | South – From Here On In

One of the few things about South that you could pin down was their name. Three London lads proudly declared their roots at a time when the north dominated the British scene – and there was an element of defiance…

Album | The Staves – Good Woman

In the decade since self-releasing their debut EP, the Staves have built their brand around blood harmonies and beautiful melodies. Their reputation grew quickly, though more patience has been required when it has come to new music from the three…

Video premiere | John Paul Keith – How Can You Walk Away

In much the same way as the mighty Mississippi passes along the western side of the city, the roots of American music flow through Memphis. Soul, gospel, rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll have a home in the cultural…