by Chris Peet • • Comments Off on Album | Withered Hand – New Gods
A full five years on from Withered Hand’s unembellished debut Good News, on first listen to New Gods you’d be forgiven for thinking that Dan Willson has spent those years sunning himself on some far-flung beach mending whatever heartbreaks and…
by Joe Sweeting • • Comments Off on Live | Bombay Bicycle Club at Rock City
Fresh from securing the Number 1 album position for their latest LP, So Long, See you Tomorrow, Bombay Bicycle Club have embarked on a UK Tour playing all the branded academies and clubs across the width and breadth of the…
by Helen • • Comments Off on Live | Serafina Steer at Women of the World Festival
‘Syd Barrett with a harp’ isn’t quite how the majority of Serafina Steer fans describe her to friends, but that’s how this idiosyncratic, talented musician chooses to sell herself at a pre-show panel discussion about women in music. Speaking alongside…
by Chris Peet • • Comments Off on Live | Anais Mitchell @ The Little Theatre, Gateshead
Fresh from a deserved triumph at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Anaïs Mitchell admits she is reticent to play anything from her most recent album – the beautifully adapted traditional folk of Child Ballads – as she feels performing…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on Album | Drive-By Truckers – English Oceans
The Drive-By Truckers’ 10th studio album captures the sound of a group rediscovering the fun in making music. Because the three years since the release of Go-Go Boots have largely been anything but for Patterson Hood and his once merry…
by For Folk's Sake • • Comments Off on Live | Matthew & the Atlas
The way I discovered Matthew & the Atlas was perhaps not the conventional one. Last year they featured on a beautiful little gem entitled ‘Share More Air’, a collaboration between professional songsters and juvenile lyricists from the Ministry of Stories.…
by Joe Sweeting • • Comments Off on Album | St Vincent – St Vincent
Annie Clark’s 4th album under the ‘St Vincent’ moniker is comfortably her best work to date. Coming off the back of a fruitful partnership with lead Talking Head, David Byrne, Clark took just 36 hours off in between finishing the…
by For Folk's Sake • • Comments Off on Album | Wild Beasts – Present Tense
Crisp production and a stunning vocal performance combine to make Wild Beasts’ fourth album Present Tense a treasure of a record. Spanning a spectrum of colour and mood, the songs boast distinctive lyrics and expertly crafted structures. The synth, bass,…
by Joe Sweeting • • Comments Off on Album | The Hosts – Softly, Softly
Sheffield has a fine tradition of turning out bands and musicians who, with their wit and humour, become indelibly placed in the public consciousness. Pulp and Richard Hawley are two that spring to mind, as are Slow Club and, of…
by For Folk's Sake • • Comments Off on EP | Hannah Peel – Fabricstate
Hannah Peel is no stranger to compliments, and she’s certainly bagged her share of supporters and collaborators in the few years she’s been releasing music. Having already worked with Simon Tong from The Verve and Gorillaz fame and gained a…