We arrived at Union Chapel to catch the end of The Wave Pictures’ earlier-than-advertised slot. The Leicestershire band delivered an assured performance, and have certainly come along way since FFS last saw them at End of the Road 2008. When they close with the brilliant Strange Fruit For David, we see why The Wave Pictures are so well-loved by established alt-folkers like Jeffrey Lewis and Darren Hayman, with whom they’ve appeared on stage.
Live: Willy Mason and Friends — St Giles in the Fields Church
From the importance of the local folk community inhabited by both he and his parents, to his preference for playing concerts in fans’ living rooms rather than ‘proper’ venues, Willy Mason is a man who understands the power music has to bring people together and share something special between them. Stood in front of the altar of St Giles church – a disconcertingly peaceful spot in the heart of bustling, grimy Soho – he allowed the congregation into his world as he stood alongside numerous fellow musicians for an inclusive night of shared sounds.
EP: Draw Me Stories — The Sky and the Mirror
Already spurred by critical acclaim from their first album and their stonking live performances, the Cardiff trio have released The Sky and the Mirror, an impressive collection of four songs infused with rock, a dash of funk and lashings of folk.
The Shins but not
Yesterday, while searching for the Shins album Oh, Inverted World on Spotify in order to help FFS’s resident owl Brian make his weekly playlist (he doesn’t have opposable thumbs, which makes computer-use tricky, you see) I discovered this: Pickin’ On…
Maryland on Balcony TV
Here’s God’s Gift to the Gunshy from Londoners Maryland.
Brian’s Mixtape #13: Openings and inroads
Brian can be a rather smug owl at times, and one of his favourite tricks is introducing people to fantastic music and then taking the credit for its wonderousness as though he’d written it or something. Here at FFS we’re powerless to stop him. This week he’s put together a selection of tracks from some of his favourite albums old and new.
Despite Brian’s pomposity there’s no denying the songs — and the albums they’re taken from — are fantastic. Just don’t tell him you think so. He does tend to go on.