Category Archives: folk
Scene and Heard – CCXVII: Better Off – Leah Capelle
The last time Leah Capelle crossed my path she was giving the music world a lesson in just how to match rock muscle with pop infectiousness to build the perfect pop-rock sound via the song Joshua. This time we find … Continue reading
12 Kinds of Lost – My Politic (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
If American country and English folk music often seem like distant cousins, similar but separated by time and distance, it is in the Appalachian fused sound of bands like My Politic that the family bond seems strongest. It is here … Continue reading
The Water Of Leith – Blue Rose Code (reviewed by Ian O’Regan)
I reviewed Paul Brady’s new album “Unfinished Business” a couple of weeks ago, and spent a very enjoyable hour or so being reminded of when I was young and only mildly cynical, and when the likes of Brady, and Van … Continue reading
Bye Bye – Sophia Marshall (reviewed by Ian O’Regan)
It’s always good to be given the opportunity to get rid of labels that are attached to artists. However well-intentioned they are at first, designed to provide some point of reference when an artist has little or no previous public … Continue reading
Scene and Heard CCXIII: Rotten To The Core – Canute’s Plastic Army
The collective back catalogue of the wonderfully named Canute’s Plastic Army’s Neil and Anish covers a lot of ground, indie rock, traditional folk, raw retro blues and poetic alt-rock to name a few, but I doubt anyone expected to find … Continue reading
Unfinished Business – Paul Brady (reviewed by Ian O’Regan)
I grew up with Paul Brady. Not in person, obviously, but he was always there, part of the fabric of life in Ireland in the 70s and 80s, and a constant thread running through the backdrop of my cultural and … Continue reading
You Look Like Hell – James Parenti (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
Why merely be a singer-songwriter when you can be a sonic painter? Why be a guy with a guitar when you can be a conjuror of taste and texture? Why settle for playing songs when you can create worlds? Why … Continue reading
Strangers – The Young ‘Uns (reviewed by Ian O’Regan)
I love watching skilled craftsmen working. They exude a sense of relaxed, effortless focus, a concentrated calmness that belies the years of training and application, the compromises and sacrifices, the endless hours of drills and practice. And there’s a stillness … Continue reading
Trials & Tribulations – Martin Simpson (reviewed by Ian O’Regan)
Martin Simpson is a phenomenal guitarist! I’ll broach no argument on that – he just is. And I don’t mean a “he’s a bit tasty, I must practice a bit more and get better” sort of phenomenal. No no! I … Continue reading
King’s Daughters Home For Incurables – Karla Kane (reviewed by Dave Franklin)
I don’t know why I should be surprised that someone from the sun strewn West Coast of America should deliver one of the most authentic sounding folk records of the year so far. It isn’t like music belongs to any … Continue reading
