Every new album from The Elected – the solo project of Blake Sennett, not so long ago of Rilo Kiley fame – has shown a new incarnation. Their 2004 debut Me First saw sampling and electronica interrupt country melodies, the…
Category: Reviews
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…
Album: Lizzyspit – I’m Alive You Know
Lizzyspit has gone from writing and recording music in her own bedroom to receiving national radio acclaim and seeks to build on her momentum with this new live collection. The songs are observations on life’s hopes, fears and relationships, and…
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…
EP: Anchor & The Wolf – The Cinema Suite
Even when listening to it, I can never quite figure out how some music manages to be both powerful and terribly delicate at the same time. But however that works, Anchor & The Wolf make it happen on the outstanding…
Album: Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter – Marble Son
Nothing is rushed in the world of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter. Their music a world of long, slow, brooding tracks that envelop you in a warm, melancholy sound. And their productivity rate does little to quicken the pulse…
Album: Amy Lashley – Travels of a Homebody
Fans of a more traditional Americana sound should find plenty to like about Amy Lashley’s latest record Travels of a Homebody. Combining blues, country, folk and even a little jazz, Lashley playfully switches between the styles in a manner akin…
Festival review: Honeyfest
There’s a new contender for the UK’s loveliest small festival. Honeyfest was organised after villiagers in the Wiltshire town of Pewsey were given lottery funding to take over the running of their local pub, The Barge Inn. As well as…
Album: Alela Diane & Wild Divine
Filigree-wearing femmes, gun-toters and life stories in three minutes are staples of country music that FFS adores, and Alela Diane’s third studio album has served to deepen our adoration. As if we needed any help. Her rich, clear vocals are like…
Album: Eliza Carthy – Neptune
For those young adults (like myself) who grew up listening to traditional folk music it feels quite surreal, even disarmingly uncomfortable, to have to weave into an Eliza Carthy review a brief description of the artist herself, of where she…