folk albums
Album Review: Tom Brosseau – Grass Punks
There are certain records that seem like they are nurtured, almost organically, like a gardener in his allotment allows things to grow. North Dakota songman Tom Brosseau’s new record, his first in five years, but his seventh overall, certainly has that feeling about it. That was perhaps expected in his music to a certain extent. …
Album Review: Suzanne Vega – Tales from the Realms of the Queen of Pentangles
The new album from Suzanne Vega is a mixed bag. The themes of the songs are fascinating, calling on aspects of Tarot, the Bible and feelings about a playwright and politician Vaclav Havel amongst other subjects. She refers to her songs as stories and parables, and the lyrical content is always diverse, even if we …
Album Review: The Provincial Archive – Maybe We Could Be Holy
“We hope for a warmer November But we’re changing with the air It’ll be colder soon And we’ll be in the darkness through the daytime Waiting for phone-calls from your shaking voices” Such a sad autumn, young as it is. I can’t and won’t explain the sadness. There are many things that have helped to …
Album Review: Smoke Fairies – Ghosts
There’s something otherworldly about Smoke Fairies. Their name, taken from the Summer mist that collects in the hedgerows of the lanes in the duo’s, school friends Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies, home county of Sussex. But it’s their ghostly goth-folk, coupled with a healthy dose of Americana, and looked over by the shadow of 4AD …