Folk
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 …
New Music: Hudson Taylor – Weapons
It seems there is a wealth of acts coming out of Ireland, with people like Kodaline and Gavin James leading the charge in 2013. This year though, it might be Hudson Taylor, a pair of brothers from the suburbs of Dublin, that could be coming to the fore. We’ve written about them before, but they …
Video of the Day: Until the Bird – Nightingales
I’m sure it was shot in the autumn, but it’ll do. Brighten up your Winter morning with the (faux) Spring light and the arboreal fecundity of “Nightingales”. You can enjoy strong, ardent vocals, virtuoso folk musicianship, the sun rippling over bark, and a lovely moment where the camera takes a dip (in the Thames ?). …
A buyers guide to Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull are a band who are special to me. They’re the first band I saw live, the first band that I felt a genuine connection to, the first band where my adolescent mind went ‘Yep, this is for me’. Given that my peers at the time were obsessing over Nirvana or the contemporary hiphop …
Track: Solander – The Woods Are Gone (plus name your price download)
Wintery sadness, gorgeously delivered. The rhythm is the perfect rendition of walking through snow – always trying to go faster, but caught by the weight of the drifts, the sadness, the longing. The shimmering snare shivers under the song like skirring flakes pelting across your eyes in moonlight and bitter winds. On top the guitar …
Track: Cleo T releases new single ‘I love me, I love me not’, plus album news
If I had any command whatsoever of the French language I would probably be able to write an article full of cleverly gauge, quoting French phrases and words to confirm my admiration for French chan…..chant, singer Cleo T. Sadly apart from ordering beer and (randomly) being able to ask the whereabouts if the tourist information …
Heyward Howkins – Be Frank, Furness
Soulful pop from sinuous-voiced Philly singer-songwriter. Keep an ear on those guitars – there’s magic hidden in those little decorations. Back in July we met Philly singer-songwriter Heyward Howkins. He was offering a first look at two of the tracks from his new LP “Be Frank, Furness”. He released the full-length earlier this month (you …
Streets of Laredo – Hey Rose
Despite obvious problems with their national rugby union side, I have a massive soft spot for Kiwis. I didn’t know this bunch were from NZ (albeit now based in Brooklyn in New York), but I’m also a sucker for country and a bit of folk and their name seemed to fit that bracket. I was …
Boss Caine – The Rhythm and the Rhyme (Part 3 of Backseat Mafia On Tour: York)
Years ago when Gomez first emerged there would always be at least a strain of suspicion running through reviews. For the generous, the fact that this group of adolescents wrote about life experiences they couldn’t have had, in places they might only have seen as wide-eyed tourists, channeled through one particular singer who sounded like …
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 …