rescuing musical virtue in distress.
I have to admit that I m always a bit suspicious when I see a new generic label pop up. Generally, such fusions don't sit together particularly comfortably and feel more like a gimmick than a new musical adventure, something forced together rather than an organic creative process. But not this. Listening to this second... Continue Reading →
London-based indiepop artist Distant Voices presents 'Stranger Among Friends', a catchy track stemming from a European junket motivated by Brexit regret and the sense of social separation, which has taken on a whole new meaning under the conditions of the current pandemic. Distant Voices is the solo project of Valdis Stekelis, who wrote and began writing these tracks in 2019,... Continue Reading →
Blending the sonic traits of the folk troubadour, the accessibility of the acoustic pop perpetrator and the authenticity of the singer-songwriter, N/SH makes music that is both perfect for today but which echoes with the sounds of the past too. It is a sound that is folk driven but like the music of so many... Continue Reading →
Delicacy. That's the word that best sums up the nature of Daniel Blake's latest EP. You can throw about all the genres and labels that you like, but the common denominator of the music found here, the music that he has always been so deft at fashioning, is its gossamer and fragile nature. Not ambient,... Continue Reading →
If you are expecting the daughter of Top Topham, he of Yardbirds fame, to make music with a bluesy rock groove, then you have come to the wrong place. If, however, you are a fan of gorgeously delicate piano tunes, deft folk infusions, shimmering acoustic guitars and charming lyrical narratives, then step right in. All... Continue Reading →
It is safe to say that Lights of the City burst into the consciousness of the more discerning music fan in a very pleasant and unexpected way. For whilst it seems to echo with many indie and Brit-pop sonic references, it managed to do away with the theatrical swagger and laddish nonchalance that seems to... Continue Reading →
Blurring the lines between traditional folk, ambient electronica, understated indie and perhaps some more primordial musical urges, The Place Where You Are is a sublime collection of songs. Whilst sounding very much the perfect collision between the modern musical grassroots and the more discerning end of the mainstream, there is also something mysterious and arcane... Continue Reading →
Although the world occasionally moves forward through leaps of faith and lateral thinking, generally it advances through more gradual and accomodating steps. And this is certainly true of music. Forget all of those jarring fusions of conflicting genres, which those looking to create the next fad and fashion try to sell us as the first... Continue Reading →
The merging of folk delicacy with indie cool has been one of the success stories of recent times. It has brought the beauty of folk styles to a whole new audience and has given indie music an unexpected new avenue to explore beyond the pose and pretence of the mainstream. Deep Rivers is a band... Continue Reading →
Some of the best music is found where opposites attract, where genres merge, where worlds collide, musical and otherwise. And that is perhaps what makes Alluring Thorns such a beguiling and endearing prospect. Actually, there is no perhaps about it. It's an elegant and eloquent folk song, one which tips its hat to medieval vibes... Continue Reading →
If you find yourself looking for a great example of gestalt, then look no further than the band that is The Lost Trades. I've seen these guys perform individually before but what has happened by this coming together is truly transformational. They have a natural ability to gather together a tight vocal harmony that would... Continue Reading →
To be perfectly frank I've struggled to review this album but with some perseverance I found an inroad on the third listening. Initially I found the vocal and language particularly jarring. I love European sounding recordings but confess I'm generally drawn to the French and Eastern parts of the eurosound spectrum. However, once I found... Continue Reading →
We keep hearing that the world is becoming an ever smaller place. Most people take that to mean that things such as travel and technology are making us more connected, more accessible, more globe-trotting. But for me, the most interesting aspect of the concept is the merging and creative collision of cultures which goes with... Continue Reading →
Whilst still swirling with the echoes of previous influences such as The Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones and emotionally connected to any number of older, purer blues artists, All Fucked Up sees Parfitt head into quieter sonic territory, the perfect balance between sweetness and vulnerability, pop accessibility and off-kilter outsiderness, hushed tones and heartfelt honesty.... Continue Reading →
Davey Woodward has done it all, musically speaking. From the brilliant Brilliant Corners' diverse palette of indie, pop, country, rock ’n' roll, post-punk and trade-mark humour through the equally delicious Experimental Pop Band, solo albums and as part of alt-guitar band Karen, there are few genres which he hasn’t wandered through, always putting his own... Continue Reading →
You have to love a bit of sonic tease. Okay, the first track drifts by innocently enough but soon you realise that you nearly a minute in to the second track and little apart from the building of hazy sonics has happened and you begin to wonder what this is all about. Then Follow Me... Continue Reading →
Songs are covered for any number of reasons. Sometimes it is a genuine love of the song in question, other times a more calculated move to ride the coat tails of a past classic. Beth Snapp has a very different, more interesting, more meta take on things releasing her own take on the Kygo remix of the Whitney Houston cover of Steve... Continue Reading →
I've said it before and I’ll say it again, The Last Charge of The Light Horse is one of the best names for a band I have come across in a long while. Add to that the album title sounds like a character in a Jeff VanderMeer novel and its cover is a lovely and... Continue Reading →
Rich Jacques has long known, and consistently proven, that music can be more powerful, more perfectly poignant, when it is used sparingly. It’s all very well to load up the musical space with all manner of instruments, double-tracked and ramped up, over-driven and over-played, if that's all you know, rock bands do it all the... Continue Reading →
Right from the word go there is something wonderfully captivating about Liam Moore’s vocals, not just the grace and gorgeousness of the delivery but the mystery which seems to ooze from these opening lines. And then he ushers in a cool baroque-folk-pop groove and Cosmic Noon is up and running, cool, charming understated and the... Continue Reading →
Although more often found weaving together musical building blocks with a more nostalgic and classic sound, In The Dark reminds us that, just like everyone else, The Jorgensens live in and are affected by the events of the modern world. Musically it embraces a much more contemporary sound, albeit one built around brooding cello undercurrents... Continue Reading →
This EP opens with an airy guitar track that took me right back to Vini Reilly's Durutti Column. Beautiful echoey plucked notes meander around a simple drum rhythm evoking warm summers and wistful idling. This theme continues and becomes more layered and textured as the time drifts gently by. There are moments of Celtic influence along... Continue Reading →
It’s always tough ploughing the singer-songwriter, acoustic troubadour furrow. Tough because there is such a legacy of great music already set in the musical stone. Tough because there is so much competition for the ears and the disposable incomes of music fans and gig-goers. But how do you stand out from the pack, particularly when... Continue Reading →
I’m always interested to find out just what genric description an artist is happy to use to describe their music. Most generic descriptions are limiting at best, at worst irrelevant, but occasionally you stumble across a gem. Meghan Pulles has used the term “emo-positive” at times to describe what she does and I find myself... Continue Reading →
I’ve listen to a lot of folk music in my, not so short, time on this earth and I’ve never come across anything quite like this before! To be honest, the term folk music probably doesn’t really do the album justice, for whilst there is folk music at its core, and a number of songs... Continue Reading →
This recording starts with a beautifully spacious sonic landscape that took me back to the time when Kate Bush experimented with the latest in Fairlight synthesizer technologies. Towards the end of the first track, big crescendos build from nothing to a dazzling ball of musical complexity. 'Bluebird' is driven along by a lo-fi 8 bit... Continue Reading →
There is an art of building a song, to creating understated atmosphere and tingling anticipation before unleashing into the musical Sturm und Drang that is the pay-off. And if part of that art is to keep the listener hanging on for as long as possible until they have abandoned all hope that there is even... Continue Reading →
Music tends to fall into one of a few categories; there are the musicians who deserve the title, they know their instrument inside out, know music theory inside out and can create and structure a piece like an architect. Everything in its correct place, the building blocks are the chords, melody and rhythm, yet they’re... Continue Reading →
As 2019 ends and we move into a new year it was with much excitement that I grabbed a cd from my haul of things to review but without knowing it I had a small pile of albums from last year that had somehow fallen by the by so the first album of the year... Continue Reading →
I sometimes cast my ears around the current pop scene and do that cliched, grumpy old man thing…"it was all better back in my day". It wasn't but with the onslaught of TV talent show wannabes and the synchronised dance routine driven videos which pour out of the ivory towers of the “music industry,” it’s... Continue Reading →