Kathryn Locke describes herself as a “composer and wayward cellist.” How she evolved to fit this description is a story in itself. She is a self-taught musician who allows her style and techniques to be informed by what she observes of the way other musicians move...
What do you play on a trip up the M6 for a week’s holiday in Galloway? Why obviously the desert blues. Having been a sucker for the snaking and twisting guitar lines of Tinariwen when their work first appeared on these shores, there was no doubt when the latest box of...
There seems to be a whole cart full of releases celebrating the bucolic life around just now. This delightful EP was first mooted back in 2019 when Walker and Merryn shared a beer and philosophy about songs of toil. Simple, straightforward it’s chiefly her voice and...
Well, it's taken a while, but The Oldham Tinkers have come up with a follow up to their last record, 'That Lancashire Band' released in 1979. Of course, there’s been re-release and compilation albums in between but this is the first set of new recordings to appear....
There were whoops of delight around these parts when the rumour started circulating that John Spiers and Jon Boden were reigniting their duo. With live dates in their diary for 2021, it's pleasing to find they have a new record to draw upon too. It's called 'Fallow...
A postcode in case you were wondering, that once of Maartin Allcock who sadly passed a couple of years ago. At the time of recording he was happily grounded in the wider circle of Fairport Convention, his membership having been relinquished in 1996. ‘OX15’ is his...
When you’re chummy with the likes of The Treacherous Orchestra and locked in with Croft No Five you can’t help but be an eclectic thinker. Duncan Lyall is therefore a polyglot musical soaker and I don’t mean that as disparaging in any way, it’s a compliment totally!...
Pigeonholing musicians is a convenience for discussing music but it's a nuisance for the more creative artist who wanders a diverse artistic path. Almost by definition, what the latter creates is more interesting but tends to lead to cult status rather than mass...
If you spy a group of people with determined looks on their faces, carrying a couple of shot guns you don’t need to worry, your local banks and building societies are safe, it’s just Gadarene hunting down the bloke who’s reviewing their new album for Spiral Earth....
Artists have always been creative, and the pandemic has led them down all kinds of paths to creatively generate income. Whether a first or not, ‘Reassembled’ is a recording of Bellowhead’s live streamed performance from Stabal Mansion in December 2020. Its 74 minutes...
Through adversity triumph tastes all the sweeter. Joe’s last studio album ‘Royal Tea’ had a tortuous road to completion and as the man himself said he felt almost ‘cursed’ as physical mishaps and the pandemic delayed all best laid plans. Despite these obstacles his...
Described as 'alt-folk' there comes a point where the 'alt' bit becomes more current or progressive than alternative and 'The Missing Star' fits that definition in that it’s a good indicator of what is happening now in many folk circles. It contains a melange of...
Soo Line Loons, (loons as in diving birds, check your Observers Book of, other identification guides are available,) are a happily diverse crew of rockers who tip their hat to all kinds of roots music. The Soo Line bit of the name is apparently a Minneapolis railway...
Songs are made of words and music and it is rare to find a songwriter who has the balance exactly right. Greg Hancock has though. The musicianship on this album is exquisite, with help from some heavyweight friends in George Arnold, Lucas Drinkwater on various...
David Cambridge and Jenna Walker have been playing together since 2016, the duo having been born from sharing stage and songs at the Blackfen Folk club in Cambridge. Every musical partnership reaches a point where releasing an album is natural and right, both for them...
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....
