Category: Folk
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Gerald Finzi: A Finzi Anthology
We’ve been playing this collection of the work of Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) a fair amount, as it is enjoyable and relatively undemanding. Finzi was one of the most characteristically “English” composers of his generation and while he did write some Christian texts, being an agnostic of Jewish descent he tends not to be overtly religious.…
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Philip Henderson: From The Old World To The New World
You could almost class this is a pop album — there’s an osmotic connection between ambient pop and classical music and this excellent CD is most definitely the pop side in places. Henderson wrote the music for shows such as The Far Pavilions and this awareness of what the masses wants infuses this easy-on-the-ear classical…
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Hattie Briggs: Young Runaway
This enjoyable folk/pop album reminded us of Texan singer Keri Noble. We bought her 2005 album Fearless and play it quite often still; what makes the album is her voice, which is crystal clear and refreshing. Nothing you could put your finger on, just honest and easy on the ear, with no vocal gymnastics, quirks…
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The Handsome Family: Unseen
Based on a series of complex algorithms, this is the second best album* we have received to review in the <mumble mumble> years we’ve been doing this reviewing game. That doesn’t mean it’s got the best tunes or the best singing or the wildest guitar solos: it’s a combination of meticulous song-writing, musicianship, production and…
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Peter Sarstedt: England’s Lane
Sarstedt is best known for Where Do You Go To My Lovely, which he wrote, and reached number one in 14 countries. It features on the rather lacklustre Ab Fab film soundtrack, which we reviewed, but, curious as to where he was now, we found that this had been re-released earlier in the year and…
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Charlie Parr: Stumpjumper
Listening to albums in recent weeks we’ve despaired at people who moan that “there’s no good music any more”. There’s more good music about than you can shake a big stick at, and Charlie Parr is a case in point, though he’s neither young nor new. See the word “blues” and you might think dull…
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Foy Vance: The Wild Swan
Vance is signed to Ed Sheeran’s label, but drive all thoughts of teen-friendly bland pop from your heads, pop-pickers: Vance is really good, and indicates that Mr Sheeran has very good taste (and business sense, but we knew that). Vance plays laid-back bluesy folk that’s got a 60s West Coast vibe to it; a lot…
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On Dead Waves: Blackbird
On Dead Waves is a project between Maps and Polly Scattergood. Maps is the stage name used by Northampton musician James Chapman. Polly Scattergood is the stage name used by Polly Scattergood. They’re both on the cult side, by which we mean the critics rate them but record buyers have never really taken to them.…
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Ciaran Lavery: Not Nearly Dark
Alongside King Harvest and the Weight (reviewed yesterday), we’ve spent a lot of time listening to this lovely new album. Ciaran Lavery is from the small village of Aghagallon, on the edge of Lough Neagh in County Armagh, and started playing and singing at the age of 15. Now based in the UK, his new…
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John Illsley: Long Shadows
“Low key Dire Straits” would be a thumbnail review of this new album from bassist Illsley. We saw him live a while back and don’t remember him as being so Dire Straits-ish but the guitar work and overall sound on this suggests that the signature Straits sound was as much his as Mark Knopfler’s.…
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