The glittering cast list attached to Kathleen Edwards’ new record promises a huge amount. Produced by her sometime spouse and fellow Wisconsin dweller Justin Vernon and featuring guest appearances from the likes of Stornoway, Norah Jones and Francis Farewell Starlite,…
Category: Records
Album | Laura J Martin – The Hangman Tree
The eagerly awaited debut album from Laura J Martin promises much, and on first listen, (and second and third…) The Hangman Tree certainly delivers. At a time when female folk-based singer-songwriters are enjoying something of a renaissance, it would be…
Album | Craig Finn – Clear Heart Full Eyes
FFS is not, generally speaking, the place to come for news on the Hold Steady. Much as some of us here may love the Minneapolis-via-Brooklyn band on the side, rock ‘n’ roll is not really what we’re here for. But…
Album | First Aid Kit – The Lion’s Roar
“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…
Album | Darren Hayman – January Songs
Just over a year ago, Darren Hayman embarked on an ambitious songwriting project – a new song every day for a whole month, original compositions – written, recorded and online by midnight or he’d turn into a pumpkin and calamity…
Album | Jim Moray – Skulk
When Jim Moray’s last album came out in 2010, I featured it in the new release section of a folk music show I then hosted on student radio. Lively, complex and with all sorts of ideas and stylings from popular…
EP Review | Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again
Michael Kiwanuka stands on the precipice in 2012. The two EPs with which he introduced himself last year, Tell Me A Tale and I’m Getting Ready earned an avalanche of praise, including plenty here, and deservedly so, for few songs…
Album | Dear Reader – Idealistic Animals
Hands up, who amongst us can name a South African band making waves in the indie scene? You? Me? No, didn’t think so. It might feel awfully lonely standing in a crowd of one, where the association of yourself with…
Album | Laura Gibson – La Grande
To say Laura Gibson could’ve stepped out of a sepia photograph circa 1880 is also to give to a fair indication of how her music sounds. There’s something curiously anachronistic about her musical sensibilities, a quality that permeates her third…
Album | James Deane – Diamonds & Hearts
On his debut album Diamonds & Hearts, James Deane demonstrates his remarkable abilities as an arranger. The music is simply beautiful, and his masterful way of delivering it adds heaps of warmth and intensity. It seems clear that he is…