Cohen is perhaps best known for his work with Granny’s Attic, but he is no stranger to solo recording having released ‘Outway Songster’ back in 2017. This is a collection with a theme of outsiders and misfits and it’s good. All the music was recorded live in the...
Currently an original copy of this item in decent playable condition will set you back a couple of hundred pounds or so. Good job then that here’s a new reissue through Bread & Wine/East Central One at least the curious can hear Clive Palmer, John Bidwell and Mick...
Banter have been with us what seems but a short while, actually six years, in that time they’ve established a deserved reputation for daring, creative diversions and good time gigging. Even as they wrote and shoved huge chunks of funk and jazz into the process somehow...
So, what’s a roke? Dialect meaning informs it’s a mist which rises at certain times in the year from a marsh, particularly in fen country. Both Honey and her Bear hail from Suffolk so that pins them down as regional champions, along the lines of Seth Lakeman or Show...
This CD from Bristol-based David Marquiss features excellent playing on nylon strung guitar combined with a fine baritone voice and a good selection of self-penned and traditional tunes and instrumentals reflecting influences as diverse as Skip James and Nick Drake....
A collection of instrumental releases using traditional instrumentation common to the folk music from Ireland, Belgium, Japan Finland and the UK but utilized for contemporary creations. The tin whistle, hurdy gurdy, fiddle, accordion, viola, kantele and shakuhachi...
It’s fine for musicians to admit their influence, it’s just that when they come to cover the material of that influence – which is often a classic- well, let’s be honest, the results can fall somewhat short. Question then, how do you cover a musician so idiosyncratic...
Born out of circumstances – a self-determined recording hiatus prior to the pandemic and a rush of inspiration once the pandemic set in, Jason Ringenberg’s “Rhinestoned” has now entered the world. Laced with different topics, covers and originals, the themes of “old...
This latest release from Austin-based out of Toronto punk blues duo Black Pistol Fire is largely a collection of singles that they’ve recently released. As such, questions might be raised as to whether they stand as a whole, but the collection does indeed present a...
Unlike a lot of people Nancy Kerr has been just as active during the pandemic as she was before it shook everything up. Not only has she been busy helping launch/maintain the profile of roots rockers Magpie Arc but here she’s dipped into Britain’s engineering, past,...
As the history of music shows, from The Everly Brothers to The Bee Gees, there's nothing quite like siblings harmonising. Identical twins, David and Adam Moss have added to this long line of close harmony vocalising as The Brother Brothers with their album 'Calla...
Anyone familiar with Peggy Seeger's life will know that she's an irrepressible tour de force of an artist. So, no surprises for fans when the album rumoured as her last arrives with a touch of irony in its title, 'First Farewell'. It's Seeger's 24th solo album in a...
Mark my words dear reader, there will come a year when Iain Matthews releases only one album, 2021 isn’t it though. Until then he keeps up his prodigious output with each new or archive release holding a charm all its own. As many as he produces I don’t believe he’s...
Unearthed by MIG- Made In Germany- this album may have a groan inducing title but the contents from a 1978 radio broadcast more than justifies the archaeology. Just what was it with maids? The Smart Alecs among you will know this crew had already named one album after...
The new album from Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere marks an interesting stage in their journey as Ninebarrow. The enforced isolation of lockdown has encouraged self reflection for many of us, whether by purpose or not. Jon and Jay had a stark realisation of the...
In amongst the various musical adventures of Jon Boden, there have been a few common strings. One of the most obvious is the solo albums that form the promised trilogy that began with 'Songs From The Floodplain' back in 2010. Starting with a post apocalyptic view of...
The very thing for these difficult times, a new Edward II recording, brimming with sunshine, good time intentions, infectious melodies and a definite party intention. But this is different: I suppose it was only a matter of time before E II turned their attention to...
Fiddle music and its many variants is a multi-headed beast and the native ethnic textures that make its unique style is what makes it so attractive to the trained and consumerist ear. John O'Regan takes a look at a batch of diverse releases covering everything from...
There aren’t too many bands that get asked to play punk and folk festivals, but Headsticks are one. Latest release ‘C.O.W.’ is their fourth and first on Chapter 22 records and it’s a mind and body-provoking collection of songs of “Folk, Punk, Roots, Revolution”. First...
Recorded in a four hour session in New Orleans in 2019, that brevity is both the strength and weakness of this release. There’s a freshness about the recordings, especially Alabama Slim’s world-worn and gritty vocals but at times the players embrace what might be most...
