Fixing you into a lazy haze-filled melancholy from the get go, Draw Me Stories bring their second album of folk infused ambience, this time with added roots. Following on from their debut The Plugged Sessions, the Welsh troupe unplug and play with their voices and more instrumentation to create a delicious album full of transcendental hymns.
Author: Lynn Roberts
Lynn founded For Folk's Sake in 2008. Her favourite artists are Joni Mitchell, The Leisure Society and The Mountain Goats. She plays keyboards in Joe Innes & the Cavalcade.
Album: Grant Campbell – Expecting Great Things
Ah, be still my beating heart! If ever someone was to capture the gentle-giant ethos through music, this is it. The third album by husky baritone troubadour Grant Campbell offers a delicacy which manages to penetrate the most heavy hearted amongst us, and leave a mass of quivering wrecks in its wake.
Laura Marling to support Neil Young on four European dates
Whilst the rest of us are busy dusting down our wellies, rolling out our tents and bracing ourselves for the start of festival season, songstress Laura Marling has just excitedly announced that she will be gearing up to support Neil Young on part of his European Tour.
Single: King Charles – Time of Eternity
Heavy strumming of guitars in loops, dark bass lines, stubborn scale loops on synths and factory-like beats on drums define ‘Time of Eternity’. If it wasn’t for the introduction of strings and the slogan-type lyrics being shouted in-between, this could pass for a simple attempt to release an insipid demo, but it is not.
Single: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Young Adult Friction
Much like the band’s name, the single Young Adult Friction hits you head on. It immediately leaps into frantic catchy chords and vocals, before being briefly interrupted by the soft, sultry tones of Peggy Wang. This repeats until a welcome time signature change, where the song deconstructs itself, re-emerging primarily with rigorous bass and drums, followed by the remaining instruments.
Single Review: Haroula Rose – Someday
Someday is a single from singer/songwriter Haroula Roses’ debut EP. It fuses delicate vocals, a beautiful piano and a gentle guitar echoing in the background. It’s about dreaming of a time when things will be perfect – this moment you might in the wrong place in your life, but someday, somewhere else, everything will be wonderful and you will be with that someone you belong with.
Album: Rachel Harrington – City of Refuge
Listening to Rachel Harrington sing tales from her second album, City of Refuge, is akin to being sat in front of the fire by your great aunt Bess and told the stories that made her a woman in a time when wagons rolled and the fiddle and the banjo were played without a hint of retro irony.
Album: Fanfarlo – Reservoir
London via Sweden’s Fanfarlo have been steadily bringing out a single a year for around three years now. Their debut album, Reservoir, has finally been unleashed and as expected, it has been more than worth the wait.
Fanfarlo: limited editions, Bandstand Busking videos and tour dates
The rather wonderful Fanfarlo have been beavering away to make 500 limited edition copies of their forthcoming album, Reservoir. We love a bit of a DIY ethos her at FFS (which is why our HQ is only half painted…) so were delighted when we saw this picture of the band mid-make.
Communion hosts folktastic stage at Bloom festival
Communion has announced a corker of a line-up for its first festival. The London – and now Brighton – night organised by Kev Jones of Cherbourg and Ben Lovett of Mumford and Sons, has curated a folk stage at Bloom in Bristol.