Even when listening to it, I can never quite figure out how some music manages to be both powerful and terribly delicate at the same time. But however that works, Anchor & The Wolf make it happen on the outstanding…
Category: Reviews
Album: Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter – Marble Son
Nothing is rushed in the world of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter. Their music a world of long, slow, brooding tracks that envelop you in a warm, melancholy sound. And their productivity rate does little to quicken the pulse…
Album: Amy Lashley – Travels of a Homebody
Fans of a more traditional Americana sound should find plenty to like about Amy Lashley’s latest record Travels of a Homebody. Combining blues, country, folk and even a little jazz, Lashley playfully switches between the styles in a manner akin…
Festival review: Honeyfest
There’s a new contender for the UK’s loveliest small festival. Honeyfest was organised after villiagers in the Wiltshire town of Pewsey were given lottery funding to take over the running of their local pub, The Barge Inn. As well as…
Album: Alela Diane & Wild Divine
Filigree-wearing femmes, gun-toters and life stories in three minutes are staples of country music that FFS adores, and Alela Diane’s third studio album has served to deepen our adoration. As if we needed any help. Her rich, clear vocals are like…
Album: Eliza Carthy – Neptune
For those young adults (like myself) who grew up listening to traditional folk music it feels quite surreal, even disarmingly uncomfortable, to have to weave into an Eliza Carthy review a brief description of the artist herself, of where she…
Album: Jim White – Sound of the Americans
Jim White has teamed up with Dan Nettles to create Sounds of the Americans, an epic, eclectic 16 track album that juxtaposes underscored narration with entirely instrumental numbers. The album opens with a cover of Daniel Johnston’ s ‘Speeding Motorcycle’,…
EP: Ben Howard – The Old Pine
The 23-year-old Ben Howard hails from South Devon, comfortably nestled between the moors and the sea. Taking inspiration from his surroundings, he goes back to his youth with his latest EP, The Old Pine. Together with Chris Bond on bass…
Album: Alessi’s Ark – Time Travel
‘Oh by now I must’ve grown’, sings Alessi Laurent-Marke on her second album Time Travel. And she has. Her writing, her melodies, the playing, the whole ambience of this album is stronger, more mature and simply wonderful. She’s yet to…
Album: Sara Lowes – Back To Creation
Sara Lowes has been on the fringes of the cooler kids of the music industry for some time, having collaborated with the critically-acclaimed likes of King Creosote and the Earlies. She finally steps into the limelight proper with Back to…