Following up on the release of 'All Souls' in 2018 (reviewed here on Spiral Earth), Eamon O'Leary has delivered 'The Silver Sun' for our enjoyment in 2021. Whilst much has changed in the world over that period, O'Leary's approach to the new record has shifted little...
Born in Oklahoma, but now resident in Essex, Bob Collum’s American and British influences are displayed for all to hear on this album, which has a lot in common with cult Springfield, Missouri’s The Skeletons and the UK’s Rockpile. The Buddy Holly “Midnight Shift”...
On Saturday 27 February, Seth Lakeman performed an online session celebrating the 15th anniversary of the release of his seminal album Freedom Fields. The session was wonderfully filmed and the audio was superb, all of which makes you miss live music even more. It is...
jim Causley is a fine singer and box player from Devon who will be well known to those who like their folk music at the traditional end of the spectrum. He has been nominated no less than six times for a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award and won the Spiral Earth Singer of the...
This is a quality CD that comfortably straddles the line between country and Americana. Peach and Quiet are Heather Read and Jonny Miller. They have an established reputation on the Canadian roots scene and judging by this it’s well deserved. They offer up songs with...
This should be called Country and Wilmington music. Let me explain. Milton Hide are Jim and Josie Tipler from Wilmington, Sussex and they take their name from a patch of woodland near their home. They are a folk duo that do what good folksingers do. They wander...
One of the benefits of career longevity is the amassed treasure of past recordings that can be compiled, reworked or repackaged. Inevitably, there is plenty to write about too. That's how we end up with Richard Thompson's first autobiography, 'Beeswing'. It...
Double CD as diverse as the Knockengorroch gathering itself – hopefully Covid clear, held this coming September – which was laid over due to circumstances and replaced by a digital event. Most of this eclectic roster have become firm festival favourites, whilst...
From the archives of Lincolnshire guitarist Eddie Baird comes a two fer reissue on Manchester's worthy Epona label. You may know his name from The Amazing Blondel, if you've the original Island LPs where they dressed as dandies, revealing a music rooted in centuries...
Begun a decade ago ‘Still Time,’ sat on the shelf as Matheson’s life unfolded personal loss, brought back during the difficult days of lock down, reflection meant focus updated the tracks and completion. Over seen by husband Donald Shaw who handles multiple...
So, Todd Rundgren, the Nutty Professor of rock’n’roll returns, but this time to your living room via his 2021 Clearly Human virtual tour, featuring 25 performances, each tailored to a different US city but all emanating each night from Chicago. The 8pm start time may...
So there I was the other night flicking lazily through the channels in a frustrating search for something worth viewing, when I chanced upon the BBC’s Scots Gaelic channel Alba. What this worthy station was broadcasting meant I stopped channel hopping and viewed with ...
Another shot of bouncy positivity clothed in a glorious melody, with singalong refrain and a huge, voluminous guitar solo from the north-west’s eternal optimists. No other band has strived harder to foster communal spirit and shared sympathies in these difficult...
Sistere is a duo comprising percussionist Jo May and singer and multi- instrumentalist Sarah Matthews. Jo was orchestrally trained but since 1996 she has plied her trade all the way from Sidmouth to Senegal and has focussed a lot of her attention on the balafon (a...
This is an adventurous work which comprises a single nineteen minute track that tells a saga-like story set in the style of an ancient ballad. It’s presented against a musical backdrop that uses settings which encompass simple finger-style guitar, an Appalachian...
World Music, as defined a few years back, has taken a change in direction as the internet has made music from around the globe readily available to all. Sometimes, distinct musical genres get blurred into what gets described as 'fusion music' - a terrible terminology....
Fifty one years ago the folk boom was booming, especially in Bristol, where a fresh faced, long haired, floppy hat wearing country blues guitarist started a label, “ to be to contemporary folk what Trailer Records was to the traditionalists.” That hat and the guitar...
The only problem with being an in demand Scots musician, like young Ron here, is that when it comes to a solo album you’re that used to being a team player you naturally follow the pattern when it comes to your own work. Fortunately for Ron and for us, his mates on...
Despite all the voodoo, hoodoo and heavy eyeliner, Jo Carley and her associates have come through a couple albums of heavy magic and spooked blues’n’rhythm to some acclaim. This, their third, is any way you care to look at it, most likely their best yet, although it...
If Brigitte DeMeyer can stand comparison to Emmylou Harris then co-conspirator/proudcer Jano Rix is her Daniel Lanois. Even if she can’t then ‘Seeker,’ is still a pretty cool thing. Writing what she terms ‘greasy southern soul,’ DeMeyer bounces country clichés clear...
