Reviews

Already lauded Sam Kelly and Tanya Brittain pool their talents to focus on Cornwall in an arts project with legs, The Changing Room are already knee deep in sessions for an album. Here’s the taster. A not inconsiderable amount of Brit roots experience has been organised to steer the project, engineer Jon Kelly, ( Paul… Read more »

Life on the hoof seems to suit Miriam Jones, born in Canada, lived in Papua New Guinea, Nashville and now resident of Oxford, you’d expect the girl to be able to offer something beyond what’s standard. She doesn’t disappoint. Such globe-trotting informs her vision but not her soulful roots rock which it has been pointed… Read more »

Sessions lead to anonymity. Discuss… Ian Carr’s pedigree as a guitarist is in no doubt, his name credited on albums by the likes of Swap, Heidi Tablot, John McCusker, Eddi Reader and Kate Rusby. None of those artists carry makeweights, so understand Mr. Carr is somewhat talented. In fact he’s ridiculously talented, besides serving time… Read more »

I first saw Dean Owens play at The Slaughtered Lamb in London a few years ago, opening for the brilliant American songwriter Nels Andrews, and I don’t know if it’s because I’d already made the association, but the lush, sweeping Americana of this new record does call to mind some of Nels’ work, particularly Off-Track… Read more »

One from the ‘beyond’ section of the review stack, Snowapple are a theatrical, close harmony, Dutch trio. Despite sending no explanation with their album I can tell you theyare Una, Laurien and Laura- thank heaven for the internet. Illusion has an almost Alice in Wonderland picture: three girls on a chess board hidden from view… Read more »

You either have to overlook or forgive the fact that Sam Kelly was once involved with reality TV – I won’t name the show, but it does have an individual named Mr Cowell in charge. Thankfully he survived unscathed and has come up chipper and is certainly wiser for the experience. Now he’s got roots… Read more »

Fylde-centric and proud of it, the Blue Pigs play the strip between Blackpool, Fleetwood and Thornton-Cleveleys, eternally bound to the Lancashire coast. Since last summer they’ve featured the talents of mega fiddler Richard Curran. From The Storm is their second recorded work and conjures an agreeable, friendly roots rock sound which takes contributions from both… Read more »

It’s quite a surprise – very pleasant mind – when Hannah Sanders leaps from the CD player clean across the kitchen and hooks her take of I’ll Weave My Love A Garland clean into your psyche.With a background in unadorned folk harmony and a lengthy stay in the US of A as part of her… Read more »

Cameron Blake entered the folk scene in 2009 and really hasn’t looked back since. His latest offering Alone On The World Stage promises to be his best yet, with contemporary folk songs, excellent lyricism and adroit guitar work. Considering the album largely features just Blake and his guitar, there is an almost orchestral expanse to… Read more »

People have been expecting big things of Harry Harris since the release of his self-titled album at the tender age of 17. Some years later Harry returns with his brand new album Songs About Other People and reaffirms the praise he had previously received. Harry’s song writing is the thing that immediately catches the ear… Read more »