Punk-styled performance poet and dulcimer-playing songstress are just a few ways of describing Aspel Orchid – with a self-made debut album Voltarine Dreams and EP From Beneath The Snow out now, the panel stepped in to take a look… Scott…
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…