The description of Pentangle as a British folk band has always been as misleading as it is inaccurate. Spanning musical genres, while Bert Jansch and John Renbourn were steeped in folk, they had roots in skiffle, ragtime, and medieval forms.…
The physical distance from Portland, Oregon to New Orleans, Louisiana is 2,538 miles, but the psychic distance is far longer. That distance explains the story of Kassi Valazza’s new album, From Newman Street. Isolating from the outside world due to…
Nomadic spirit Laura Reznek has already been on the road many times in her musical career, crossing the Atlantic and roaming the UK and mainland Europe. The Canadian-born singer-songwriter’s third album feels like a moment taken to pause, to hold…
I think it’s fair to say that not too many albums begin with songs named after the Greek term for robust equanimity characterised by the ongoing freedom from distress and worry, but Hannah Rose Platt breaks from this on Fragile…
At times Beirut can seem a little esoteric. Zach Condon dropped out of high school at 17 and worked at a movie theater specialising in international films. There he learned about Fellini arias, Sicilian funeral brass and Balkan music. After…
Rhiannon Giddens has a passion for the banjo. Not so much the banjo heard on bluegrass recordings, but the old-time claw hammer style. Together with Justin Robinson on fiddle, they explored the roots of African American music with the Carolina…