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Jim White came to the fore with his full album debut, ‘The Mysterious Tale Of How I Shouted Wrong-Eyed Jesus’. An album that had its manic moments but was wrapped in the pop imagination of its creator. There followed a series of albums that had this enigmatic artist exploring the darker areas of the outside… Read more »
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Rakoczy is Hungarian by birth but has spent most of her formative years in a city I know well, Manchester. Therefore she tips her hat to Mancunian flautist supremo Michael McGoldrick, also adds Tom Waits, Lady Gaga, Blowzabella and The Peatbog Faeries for good measure, I’d say Kate Bush as well. You might tag this… Read more »
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Two of Yorkshire’s finest Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow have been cheerily spreading good humour and serious story songs across the land for the last ten years. Several albums in it was perhaps inevitable that a live show should surface, this being an opportune time to issue one having just had top drawer exposure… Read more »
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Just occasionally along comes an album by somebody you’ve never heard of, never seen in concert and things seem just right. So with that in mind, I’m going to recommend Stephen Clark, who I’ve never heard of and never seen in concert either. ‘The Lady Aurora,’ is a bunch of instrumentals chiefly his own… Read more »
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Tenth birthday hooley for Rura, a roll call of ex members and heavyweight guests along for the ride. Some ride it is too. Rura are one of those bands who play with energy fit to burst and then will turn on a sixpence and deliver an air that’s reflective and tender. They’ve released a… Read more »
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Two sides to every story, certainly two sides to Dan Whitehouse. They’re differences he’s keen to explore on this double CD. The first a tentative trial of concentrated material, it’s powerful and at times quite dark. The other more familiar, the sound of singer songwriter reflection with stripped back melodies. Two discs, so, two… Read more »
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There is much about Lisa Lambe’s second album that’s windswept; from the cover shot of a blown, tossed and fragile face to the breezes and atmospheres which imbue the music itself. In many ways ‘ Juniper,’ uses Irish roots in the rurality and ambience which emerges from the speakers across twelve tracks of intimate… Read more »
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Tumbling tunes, a seductive melodic drift, vocals which bounce harmonically around in dream like patterns, Annie Dressner has taken to life on our side of the pond like a natural. A natural that is who allows her American origins to shine through on virtually every track of ‘ Coffee At The Corner Bar.’ Hers… Read more »
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The name of Dan Penn may not be familiar to you but nonetheless many of his often co-written songs will be recognisable. ‘The Dark End Of The Street’ by James Carr, ‘Do Right Woman, Do Right Man’ by Aretha Franklin and ‘Cry Like A Baby’ by The Box Tops come to mind. As you’ll recognise,… Read more »
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It’s all Nick Drake’s fault… have you ever wondered how many bands there are called Hazey (Hazy) Jane? There’s one in London fresh faced and pop orientated, one in the States sans e – maybe many more, and then there’s this one, confusingly also with an e in the name, then there’s a New… Read more »
