Political music cannot, as Billy Bragg says, change the world, “but it can change the way you think about the world.” Martha Tilston’s new record Machines of Love and Grace finds its raison d’être – and severe limitations – in…
Category: Reviews
Live | Karine Polwart @ The Union Chapel
THE breathtaking Union Chapel is the perfect setting for this rare gathering of Karine Polwart’s full band. Adding piano and percussion to her regular backing of brother Steven (guitar, good looks, bad jokes) and Inge Thompson (accordion, backing vocals, headscarves),…
Album | Bhi Bhiman – Bhiman
Bhi Bhiman’s voice is distinct and powerful. In fact, his delivery is as textured and girthy as the mighty redwood trees near his home in San Francisco. Apologies for the hyperbole, but both the above sentences offer insight into Bhiman’s…
Live | Pocktoberfest @ Pocklington Old Railway Station
Pock’n’Roll. Pock and awe. Pock ’til you drop. Top of the Pocks. The only thing better than attempting a bit of word play relating to Pocktoberfest was actually being there. You may not have heard of Pocktoberfest. You probably haven’t…
Live | Bellowhead @ The Water Rats
When Charles Dickens reported “There was an abundance of lights, and there was music… the whole building looked to me as if it were learning to swim,” he was not describing a Bellowhead gig, rather David Copperfield’s first experience of…
EP | Simone Felice – New York Times EP
After years of producing outstanding records with the Felice Brothers and The Duke & The King, Simone Felice’s debut solo album fell a little short. When it hit its highs, it was beautiful (look no further than opener Hey Bobby…
Singles Round-up | Pistols At Dawn, Grass House, MAIA, Pipers, Mt. Wolf
Pistols At Dawn – Man.Wolf.Man The centrepiece bass on this recording-project-turned-band’s latest single is so like the brooding bass line on ‘Come Together’ it’s uncanny, but its goes far beyond its bluesy sound. The track’s scuffling brush beats, jangling acoustics…
EP | Tiny Birds – Local History
Tiny Birds, tiny portions. This London quintet deal in brevity, following up their eight-song, 25-minute debut album Hymns For The Careless with this new five-track EP. While not straying too far from the folk-pop template that has got them this…
EP | Tom Odell – Songs From Another Love
Two years ago, when I worked at former digital radio station Amazing Radio, Tom Odell and his band Tom & the Tides were a staple of the airwaves with his song ‘Spider’. This was a towering choral number with serious…
Album | Knife and Fork – The Higher You Get, The Rarer The Vegetation
Knife & Fork seem most noticed for performing as a support act for PJ Harvey, which carries some kudos, as she is basically a raven queen with shock and awe in her wings (band leader Eric Drew Feldman has a…