by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on Album | Lankum – The Livelong Day
Dropping the needle on The Livelong Day is to enter an intense world. Their third studio album is the Irish four-piece’s most uncompromising statement yet. Few bands would dare open with an 11-minute long reworking of ‘The Wild Rover?’, its…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on Album | Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Colorado
For his 41st (not counting those unreleased treasures constantly teased but not yet heard) studio album, Neil Young headed to the Studio In The Clouds, almost two miles above sea level in the Colorado Rockies. You know that if Young…
by Bob Fish • • Comments Off on Album | James McArthur and The Head Gardeners – Intergalactic Sailor
Sometimes it feels as if James McArthur and The Head Gardeners are being set up to take the fall if the resurgence of folk music doesn’t completely encompass the British Isles. Which would be a shame since Intergalactic Sailor is…
by Ian Parker • • Comments Off on Live | Bill Callahan @ Manchester Albert Hall
As he stands in the splendour of Manchester’s Albert Hall, Bill Callahan almost looks like he is enjoying himself. He cracks the odd joke and flashes an occasional smile. ‘This is the first time we’ve played Manchester since Mark E…
by Bob Fish • • Comments Off on Album | Angel Olsen – All Mirrors
‘Shut Up Kiss Me’ shaped the summer soundtrack of 2016, so much so that it’s easy to forget that Angel Olsen marches to a beat only she can hear. Following a path that doesn’t stick to the straight and narrow, she…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Album | Rob Alexander – Long Road Coming Home
Rob Alexander’s Long Road Coming Home instantly recalls an era of radio dominated by piano-pop pioneers. Fronted by sprightly keyboards, forward-moving percussion, and heady sax breaks, Alexander serves as the hearty frontman to deliver these hook-laden gems. Avoiding direct comparisons…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Album | Kristina Stykos – River of Light
A couple of years back, Kristina Stykos was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia. Facing a reality where singing and even holding day-to-day conversations wouldn’t be as easy as it once was, the diagnosis has still never stopped Stykos in her tracks.…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Album | The Rightly So – Vandura
Since kicking off their folk music career with their eponymous 2017 LP, the Rightly So have been busy touring the country. “We’ve spent the last year and a half living out of our homemade RV built inside an old Verizon…
by Bob Fish • • Comments Off on Album | Hiss Golden Messenger – Terms Of Surrender
Listening to Hiss Golden Messenger is like going to church. You don’t always hear what you want, but you hear what you need. Terms Of Surrender is no exception. This new collection of ten tunes comes after M. C. Taylor…
by Jonathan Frahm • • Comments Off on Album | Todd Warner Moore – Starry Sounds
Todd Warner Moore’s artistry more often than not feeds off of pensive lyricism met by warm, pop-driven hooks. Sifting comfortably through acoustic realms, Moore has excelled over the years as a multifarious songwriter. Capable of bending genres into his overarching…