I am not ashamed of my crush on Johnny Flynn, for he is not only beautiful like an angel but he is hugely talented. I was also not the only one who clapped and wooped as he walked onto the…
Category: Reviews
Live: Adelaide’s Cape @ The Gladstone, London Bridge
It’s rare that I write a gig review that begins with a discussion of the venue, but in this case I feel I have little choice in the matter. The Gladstone is a lovely little pub round the corner from…
Album: School of Seven Bells – Disconnect from Desire
When New Yorkers Alejandra and Claudia Deheza (twins, no less) join forces with former Secret Machines guitarist Benjamin Curtis they become: School of Seven Bells. The band’s second album is shiny enough to make decent pop music without relinquishing any…
Live: Bob Dylan @ Hop Farm
With Bob Dylan at Hop Farm FFS got what we expected. We’ve heard enough about his performances not to imagine we were in for a lot of crowd interaction but by being there we were paying homage to the best…
Album: The Mynabirds – What We Lose In The Fire We Gain In The Flood
Before there was a Buffalo Springfield or a Crazy Horse (though after there had been The Squires), Neil Young was briefly in a band called the Mynah Birds, who were signed to soul label Motown. Only a handful tracks were…
Live: The National @ iTunes Festival, Roundhouse, London
Ah, The National; that type of band who, through perseverance and solidity, capture people’s hearts one by one, slowly but steadily, brewing their musical barley until it is ready for consumption to lift people’s spirits and to quench the thirst…
Album: Dear Winesburg – Dear Winesburg
In the midst of the re-emergence and popularity of folk music (which is very much deserved for a genre that has been so overlooked for so long) you’d hope that it might encourage people to delve deeper and look past…
Live: Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three @ Sophia’s, California
The other day I ended up at a restaurant watching American folk bands again – this time a Thai kitchen-cocktail bar with a stage on the front deck. Dim mood lighting and wooden floorboards complemented the music, which was billed…
Album: Treecreeper – Juniper
Treecreepers are incredibly active birds native to the Northern Hemisphere and Sub-Saharan Africa. Treecreeper are not an incredibly active band. The slacker folk-rockers from Wendover have just issued their second album, a mere three years after the first, and it’s…
Album: Various Artists – Sing Me To Sleep: Indie Lullabies
Sing Me To Sleep is the latest example of the recent trend for kid-friendly compilations, in the vein of 2006’s Colours Are Brighter. It brings together various indie folk to rejig lullabies for toddlers with good taste – and their…