In the shadow of York’s great gothic Minster, the Smoke Fairies have come to weave their magic. Their haunting, ethereal music is ideal for this ancient city. While we may, in fact, be gathered in the basement of a 1960s…
Category: Reviews
Singles: Smoke Fairies, To Kill A King, The Musgraves, Billy Vincent, Looking Glass & Common Tongues
Smoke Fairies – Storm Song (V2) If you like the Smoke Fairies (and frankly you should) then you will love their latest single ‘Storm Song’. The song opens quietly but gradually builds to become something pretty epic. Always with the…
EP: Daughter – His Young Heart
Solo Londoner Elena Tonra, known musically as Daughter, quickly gained an online following after the release of a four track demo EP earlier this year. That collection, almost entirely recorded with just a guitar and Tonra’ s delicate vocals, revealed…
Emmy the Great’s album showcase – Virtue
Emmy the Great launched her second album Virtue with an album showcase at the Wheelbarrow in Camden tonight. Accompanied by a six-piece band she played the album in full and in order, before treating the audience to an encore of…
Album: Devon Sproule – I Love You, Go Easy
“Let’s all get up and dance to a song/That was a hit before your mother was born”, sang Paul McCartney on ‘Your Mother Should Know’, and I Love You, Go Easy, the sixth album by Devon Sproule, answers the call:…
Album: Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard
The second offering from Ra Ra Riot, The Orchard, is more of the same from this rather fun, quirky band, and that is certainly no bad thing. The title track leads things off but is a poor indication of how…
Album: Wild Beasts – Smother
Wild Beasts, possibly the most exciting band to emerge from the British music scene over the last decade, have been criticised for being preposterous and overblown, and for taking themselves too seriously. As they open up their coruscating third album…
Album: Emmylou Harris – Hard Bargain
Any fan knows that Emmylou Harris’ voice is as unmistakable as your own best friend. It is a kind of melodic breathing – soft, guttural, with whispered high notes and mournful, complex depths. This album shows that, after all these…
Live: Bill Callahan @ The Barbican,
When Bill Callahan walked onto the Barbican stage it was as calmly as if he were going to put out the bins. His blue-grey hair was combed respectably and his suit was stiff and formal, more like he were a…
Album: The Elected – Bury Me in My Rings
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…