History repeats itself, which explains why you can hear so much of the past in The Future, the second album from New York brother-sister pairing This Frontier Needs Heroes. Brad and Jessica Lauretti lap up influences from two of America’s…
Author: Ian Parker
Ian is For Folk's Sake's reviews editor. Find him on Twitter @iparky.
Live: Anais Mitchell @ Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Anais Mitchell leapt into our consciousness with last year’s stunning folk-opera Hadestown, a sprawling masterpiece with a lengthy cast of distinguished contributers, not least Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, the Low Anthem’s Ben Knox Miller and Ani DiFranco. Lush instrumentation and…
Interview: The return of Duane Eddy
Sometimes an idea comes from so far out of left field it takes you a while to realise just how perfect it is. Like Duane Eddy, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall-of-Famer who invented the famous ‘twang’ sound, recording an album…
Album: Anna Waronker – California Fade
Former That Dog frontwoman Anna Waronker has kept fans waiting for her second solo album. While a little acting and film scoring may have got in the way, it’s nine years since her debut Anna was released, and no matter…
Album: Rubik – Solar
We’ll admit we don’t follow the Finnish music scene that closely, but were any of us to do so, we’d find Rubik somewhere near the top of the pile. Solar, released here in the UK only now, has already been…
Live: Alessi’s Ark @ The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
This is far from the first time FFS has seen Alessi Laurent-Marke perform live, but it might as well be. The shy girl whose last two gigs in Leeds were the lowest of low-key affairs in the corner of a…
Live: Smoke Fairies @ The Duchess, York
In the shadow of York’s great gothic Minster, the Smoke Fairies have come to weave their magic. Their haunting, ethereal music is ideal for this ancient city. While we may, in fact, be gathered in the basement of a 1960s…
Interview: Ron Sexsmith rises again
When Ron Sexsmith’s 11th album Long Player Late Bloomer was released earlier this year, FFS declared it to be the Canadian singer-songwriter’s “most exuberant album to date”. We’re sticking with that assessment, but the man himself told us it came…
EP: Cashier No. 9 – Goldstar
Cashier No 9 is, we’re pretty sure, a terrible name for a band. But luckily for them, that’s where the terribleness stops. The Goldstar EP will mark the end of their obscurity, serving as it does as their final self-released…
EP: Pete David and The Payroll Union – Underfed and Underpaid
Sheffield might currently lack a defining music scene, but in the wake of all those who were keen to ape Arctic Monkeys a few years ago this comes as a merciful shot of relief. What the Steel City offers instead…