As far as concert venues in Belfast go, The Black Box is definitely one of the nicer ones. Gracefully skimming the line between rowdy, leery pub and wanker-infested bohemian dive, it’s a blessed haven where you won’t be immediately saturated…
Category: Reviews
FFS’s New Band Review Panel: Aspen Sails
Mary Machin: The music of Aspen Sails is nostalgic, infectious and personal all in one breath. Much of the material is accessible and could be any folk fan’s cup of tea. Going back to the personal element of Aspen Sails’ music,…
Album: Harper Simon – Harper Simon
Harper Simon’s first album, Harper Simon is so good on paper that it would have to work pretty hard to be bad. Ten tunes squeezed into half an hour of music – always a good omen, some of Nashville’s canniest…
EP: Eagleowl – Into The Fold
Eagleowl have certainly kept us waiting. They say themselves, they ‘prefer to do things right, rather than do things fast’, and they certainly live by that. Into the Fold is the follow-up to their 2008 EP For The Thoughts You…
Single: Draw Me Stories – Becomes The Hunted/Oars
Draw Me Stories have turned the power back on. Following up on last year’s album The Unplugged Sessions and The Sky And The Mirror EP, they return with the new double A side single Becomes The Hunted/Oars, and it represents…
FFS’s New Band Review Panel: Danny Mahon
Damien Girling: Everybody is a sucker for a particular genre of music, one that will appeal immediately without the necessity of multiple listens. Fortunately for Danny Mahon and, more to the point, myself, his genre falls nicely within the bracket…
Album: Rufus Wainwright – All Songs Are Nights: Songs For Lulu
For some time now Rufus Wainwright has been an anomaly amongst the artists I like, and amongst those I own records by. I like Rufus – that much I know for sure. I like his voice, and his piano playing.…
EP: Sam Airey — Season’s Change
I can’t help but think that with Spring finally showing its face, the release of Sam Airey’s EP, Season’s Change could not be better timed. It’s a lovely sunny EP which will be the perfect accompaniment for any Spring time…
Live: Laura Marling, Journal Tyne Theatre, Newcastle, 19/04/10
There aren’t many gigs where you could say that the venue itself made for a beautiful experience but Laura Marling’s run of impeccable choices when it comes to where to play (this writer fondly remembers her church tour as she…
Album sampler: Lissie — Catching a Tiger
With Lissie’s blonde hair, freckled face and guitar in hand, it would be easy to write her off as another “pretty folk-singer wanna-be”…. Of course once you listen to her music, that thought gets promptly blown to pieces. She has…