Yann Tiersen and his band don’t like to make a huge entrance. They shuffle onstage in checked shirts, jeans and Converse, each not quite waving, but motioning, to the audience: completely unaffected by the roaring applause they elicit. Their casualness…
Author: For Folk's Sake
Live: Ruarri Joseph @ Exeter Phoenix 25/11/10
After a somewhat turbulent 2009 that saw Ruarri Joseph side tracked by family life for almost a year, it’s clear from the moment the Cornish singer-songwriter steps on stage at the Exeter Phoenix with his new band that’s he’s happy…
Album: Bruce Springsteen – The Promise
Here’s a thing, The Promise is an album full of songs that didn’t make it on to Springsteen’s classic album ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’. That fact isn’t something that might get someone excited about a music release, you might imagine…
Interview: Bellowhead
As an 11-piece outfit, you’d be forgiven for thinking Bellowhead were a travelling orchestra rather than a folk band. Currently touring their third studio album, Hedonism, they took a break to talk numbers, Abbey Road, awards and residencies with FFS.…
Live: The Mariner’s Children & Tristram @ The Cellar, Oxford
“Hi there, big empty room,” announces Benedict Rubenstein, lead singer and guitarist (and banjo and mandolin player) of The Mariner’s Children, as the seven-strong group carefully position themselves on The Cellar’s relatively small stage. Indeed, the previous three bands of…
Live: Standard Fare @ The Wilmington, London
They sneaked onto the stage in the most inconspicuous of ways, which, in The Wilmington Arms, is a pretty fine achievement, and that set the tone of the night for Standard Fare. Previous gigs supporting Allo Darlin’ and at Indietracks…
EP: Benjamin Francis Leftwich- A Million Miles Out
A Million Miles Out is the first EP from Communion compilation alumnus Benjamin Francis Leftwich. The opening line of first track ‘Atlas Hands’ is ‘take me to the docks there is a ship without a name there, and it is…
EP: Shambles Miller Sails the Clockwork Sea
Shambles Miller’s Shambles Miller Sails the Clockwork Sea is a collection of four direct, glass-swinging ditties. The EP lacks refinement, but makes up for it with plenty of chutzpah. The opener, ‘Strike!’, is another volume in the proud tradition of…
Album: Snowblink – Long Live
Snowblink’s Long Live is a threatening album. That is to say, this completely superb album threatens to surprise the listener with unexpected and appropriate moments. It is clear from the beginning — a track called ‘Rut and Nuzzle’ — that Daniela…
Live: Lissie @ Heaven, London
Lissie played a sold out gig at London’s Heaven, but not without the help of her trusty superglue. She followed a storming set from Brighton four piece Ramona, who were first to take to the venue’s lofty stage. They provided a…