Author: Ian Parker

Ian is For Folk's Sake's reviews editor. Find him on Twitter @iparky.

Album | The Unthanks – In Winter

If we were drawing up a list of the artists we’d most like to hear make a seasonal record, the Unthanks would be somewhere near the top. Their rich instrumentation, careful arrangements, and beautiful harmonies are just the warming sound…

Album | Laura Marling – Patterns In Repeat

The intimate nature of Laura Marling’s eighth studio album is apparent before she has even played a note. We hear shuffling, voices, a yelp from Marling’s infant daughter, as they get themselves arranged in the home studio where Patterns In…

Album | The Miserable Rich – Overcome

Tough times can overcome you, and they can be overcome. Every story is different, but the chances of finding a way through are much stronger with the love and support of family and friends. And that was the backdrop for…

Album | Laura Veirs – Phone Orphans

Laura Veirs’ music has been intensely personal in recent times. 2020’s My Echo? was the sound of her marriage breaking up, while 2022’s Found Light was a reflection, a record about what comes next. But now Veirs, as she reaches…

Album | Caitlin Rose – Cazimi

When Caitlin Rose burst on to the scene in 2010 with her delightful debut album Own Side Now, followed up soon after with The Stand-In, her star instantly shone bright. Rave reviews heralded the arrival of a powerful new voice,…

Album | Arny Margret – They Only Talk About The Weather

Ísafjörður must be a strange place to grow up. Almost six hours north of Reykjavik on the Westfjord peninsula of Iceland, it is a remote and dramatic landscape, one where tall mountains can block out the sun for several months…

Album | The Unthanks – Sorrows Away

I’ve got an unsent greeting card sat on the side which reads “I heard you’ve been watching a lot of news lately so here’s a card with a comforting duck on it”. I’ve not sent it to anyone yet because…

Album | Alela Diane – Looking Glass

Alela Diane’s sixth studio album was born in a storm – more than one, in fact. There was the thunderstorm in Mexico, which knocked out the power as Diane wrote the opening track ‘Paloma’. “In the black of night/I wouldn’t…

Album | Bonny Light Horseman – Rolling Golden Holy

When Bonny Light Horseman – the band formed by songwriter Anais Mitchell, producer Josh Kaufman and the original Fruit Bat Eric D. Johnson – delivered their self-titled debut album in 2020 it was easy to imagine it was a one-off.…