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BBC Folk Award winner Ben Walker joins forces with highly acclaimed singer and pianist Kirsty Merryn to create a fresh take on a tradition ripe for rediscovery. Life and the Land is a celebration of England’s harvest tradition, re-imagining songs born out of our agricultural past. Focusing on songs from rural England found in local… Read more »
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Morganway was founded in 2016 by twin brothers Callum (vocals/bass) and Kieran Morgan (lead guitar), and genre-defying keyboard player Matt Brocklehurst. Their numbers quickly grew as their sound developed, with singer SJ Mortimer, whose growling vocals were a perfect complement to the Morgan brothers gritty guitar work, and fiddle player Nicole J Terry joining the… Read more »
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Flute player Michael Walsh was born in Manchester and raised in Stockport, where he began to play Sligo style. ‘QuareHawk’ the word is Irish slang for an odd or weird person; the album content is like its title distinctive and certainly from the leftfield. Opening and ending the album are ‘The Lathe revival Pt1 &… Read more »
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Welcome to our review round up by Simon Jones of other releases received and duly considered, November 2019: Postcards & Pocketbooks. – Bella Hardy Subtitled‘The Best Of,’ it’s hard to credit it that ten years have passed since Bella Hardy debuted, winning a pile of gongs and awards since, perhaps a decade is a… Read more »
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Luke Jackson’s got a sharp eye and a computer memory. The title holds significance, Journals is the recorded equivalent of cinema verite wherein melody and lyric form pictures in your mind as Jackson’s world view unfolds. We live in uncertain times at any level you care to mention, what’s revealed here is just how deep… Read more »
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With a nod in the direction of Banksy, Chris While and Julie Matthews deliver again on a set which is their strongest in many a moon, amplified by the fact underneath all the calm there flows a river of anger, frustration and fire, balanced by ever present compassion. Hasn’t it always been so? From the… Read more »
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This London based four-piece first hit my radar back in early summer with the digital release of their debut single ‘Play Johnny Play’ – a hard driving rocker sung in strident tones by vocalist Callum Lury – that immediately put one in mind of John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Their live shows have drawn… Read more »
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A weird name which reflects the fact that the sound here is other worldly, a dream after a fashion, Bird In The Belly reshape and craft alternate versions of trad folk, doggerel and lore producing a haunted selection which has quite an impact. Imagine Comus stirred with Steeleye Mark 2, some of Kate Bush’s fantasy… Read more »
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Eliza Carthy MBE should by now need no introduction. A multi-award winning singer, songwriter and musician from a formidable English music dynasty. Describing herself simply as a “modern English musician”, Eliza Carthy herself is one of the most recognisable faces of the English folk revival. Her first “solo” album of traditional music in 14 years, Restitute is literally… Read more »
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Five leading lights of the British roots scene join forces to create a festive folk band like no other. Expect soaring harmonies and exquisite musicianship as the 5-piece blast through a repertoire of brand new, specially written songs, fresh arrangements of traditional carols both well-loved and little-known, and Christmas classics from both sides of the… Read more »
