‘Syd Barrett with a harp’ isn’t quite how the majority of Serafina Steer fans describe her to friends, but that’s how this idiosyncratic, talented musician chooses to sell herself at a pre-show panel discussion about women in music. Speaking alongside…
Fresh from a deserved triumph at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Anaïs Mitchell admits she is reticent to play anything from her most recent album – the beautifully adapted traditional folk of Child Ballads – as she feels performing…
The Drive-By Truckers’ 10th studio album captures the sound of a group rediscovering the fun in making music. Because the three years since the release of Go-Go Boots have largely been anything but for Patterson Hood and his once merry…
The way I discovered Matthew & the Atlas was perhaps not the conventional one. Last year they featured on a beautiful little gem entitled ‘Share More Air’, a collaboration between professional songsters and juvenile lyricists from the Ministry of Stories.…
Annie Clark’s 4th album under the ‘St Vincent’ moniker is comfortably her best work to date. Coming off the back of a fruitful partnership with lead Talking Head, David Byrne, Clark took just 36 hours off in between finishing the…
Crisp production and a stunning vocal performance combine to make Wild Beasts’ fourth album Present Tense a treasure of a record. Spanning a spectrum of colour and mood, the songs boast distinctive lyrics and expertly crafted structures. The synth, bass,…
Sheffield has a fine tradition of turning out bands and musicians who, with their wit and humour, become indelibly placed in the public consciousness. Pulp and Richard Hawley are two that spring to mind, as are Slow Club and, of…
Hannah Peel is no stranger to compliments, and she’s certainly bagged her share of supporters and collaborators in the few years she’s been releasing music. Having already worked with Simon Tong from The Verve and Gorillaz fame and gained a…
Kelly Oliver’s songs are full of clear traditional folk melodies; fans of The Staves and The Unthanks might want to give her debut EP a whirl. Title track ‘Far From Home’ features voice, guitar and the odd flourish of accordion,…
Right from the off Angel Olsen has a style all of her own. The hazy opening of Burn Your Fire For No Witness sounds like a woman strumming and singing while she dreams of a love she has lost. It’s…