There must be a name for the act of singing along to songs you don’t know. It’s the sort of silly thing that academics deem worthy of giving a name to. The sort of thing they report on in the ‘And Finally…’ section on Sky News. Maybe if there isn’t a name for it we should give it one now. And maybe, if we’re to do that, we should call it ‘múmming’ in honour of the new album by Múm.
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Album: Roy Rieck and the Medley Band – Never Trust the Holy Gracious Medley Band
Roy Rieck became a blues/folk singer in the most perfect way. Whilst serving in the military he picked up a harmonica and gave it a little play. Through this he discovered a love for this kind of music and set off for Mississippi in search of his formal folk education. After this Roy headed back to his homeland of Israel and met up with some childhood friends in similar musical boats. These friends became the Medley band and together they made beautiful music for the world to fall for.
Album: Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
Wait no more – possibly the album you have all been anticipating more
than any other this year is finally here – hurray! Sigh No More is
the much-hyped debut album from the folk force charging its way in to
ears and hearts all over the country – Mumford and Sons. 12 tracks of
classic Mumford tunes – think your dad’s old folk records meets Welsh
men’s choir for hilly billy hoe down in a pub in Ireland on a rainy
evening. [Breath!]
EP: O’Messy Life – Green Posies Grown Gangrene Below ‘Em
If you’re anything like me then the tag ‘folk music’ conjures up images of farmers, checked shirts and things happening with sheep that really shouldn’t be. However this traditional image of folk is now outdated. O’Messy Life hail from Sunderland of all places. That said, even a Geordie like myself has more sense than to judge a band by its origin – and a good thing too.
Album: Dawn Landes – Sweetheart Rodeo
Reviews for Dawn Landes’ previous album Fireproof tended towards the “nearly there, give her a year or two” end of the spectrum. The pressure was on: would Landes deliver? Well, probably not, but maybe we’ll give her another year or two. This is a really decent set of songs packed full of interesting sounds, but it doesn’t quite gel as an album.
Album: Drive-By Truckers – The Fine Print
The Drive-By Truckers have carved a career out of creating, what is on first listen, very generic country rock. But once given time by a listener this generic country rock can seep into your heart and become the music that a person will carry with them for their whole life. They are a band that fans will sing about from the highest mountains, but to the rest of the music buying public sound as dull as dishwater. There is no doubt that the Truckers have an amazing ear for a tune that can wrench at the heart, because nobody flukes upon rock ‘n’ roll gold as much as they have, but it’s a delicate tightrope that they walk, and they rarely stray from what they are good at.
Album: Homelife — Exotic Interlude
Homelife’s sound is one I found pretty hard to pin down and analyse. The first track sounds like a band that would play Woodstock with flowers in their hair and peace signs on their guitars. Moving through you hear an intense Hawaiian theme- suddenly you’re transported to a deserted beach on Maui craving a hog roast. Next thing you know the music takes a turn for the modern and you’re at a bohemian house party with people smoking shisha and discussing politics. In other words, this album is fantastic.
Album: Piney Gir – The Yearling
So here comes Miss Piney Gir, a Kansas country lady based in London, with her third album and vintage dresses and toys as part of the project troupe as far as visuals and tunes go.
Single: Malcolm Middleton – Zero
Even Malcolm Middleton, arguably the most angsty front-man around, has embraced this year’s electronic revolution. Zero, taken from Malcolm’s fifth solo album Waxing Gibbous, is a slight departure from his usual guitar heavy songs. His inclusion of electronic drum beats and keys may even give it a greater chance of reaching the heights of the charts than his 2007 Christmas hope We’re All Going to Die, which reached a dizzying Top 40 slot.
Album: Richmond Fontaine – We used to think the freeway sounded like a river
If there is something that characterizes Richmond Fontaine, this alternative country band from Portland Oregon, is their ability to recreate imagery into music. Willy Vlautin – vocals and guitar – is well known for this art. Yet this album combines his skill with an additional display of pure American songwriting spells and traditional rock and roll bravado.