Jason McNiff’s been gathering increasing acclaim since he made his debut and it’s long overdue for that to be matched by greater commercial success. With the label behind him, Joy and Independence might just be the one to crack the ceiling.
Cherry-picked from two decades of output, this is a varied collection of consistently high quality. Listeners hankering for an echo of that sly Mr Fox (genuinely weird and wonderful) will find delight in the 70s composition, Fiddler’s Cross.
There’s a quiet, easy charm about Alden Patterson & Dashwood’s distinctive little musical niche, yet its very simplicity of execution is deceptive, for it can conceal an inventiveness and sense of challenge that I find every bit as beguiling.
I guess that the song ‘Echoes’ is about the pain of letting go of a relationship that isn’t working. The lyrics were still forming when I came to the session, and that gives the performance a bit more immediacy and spontaneity than a song that has settled.
A magnificent celebration of the achievements of Fellside Recordings, a marvellous collection of life-affirming music that (together with its predecessor-companion issues) richly deserves a place on your “dip into often” shelves.
Folk Show Episode 31 features: Damien O’Kane & Ron Block, Pokey LaFarge, Laura Gibson, Gillian Welch, Blaze Foley, Black Twig Pickers, Kaia Kater, Valerie June, Letitia VanSant, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Jackson C Frank and more.
On Banjophony, there’s a connectivity among the musicians that goes far beyond simply sharing a melody; it’s an exchange of ideas and influences and a platform to explore them. O’Kane and Block have taken a collective approach to create an album of incredibly captivating music.
Featuring Jenny Sturgeon, Inge Thomson, Jason Singh, Sarah Hayes and Magnus Robb and The Sound Approach, watch the video for Northern Flyway’s ‘Curlew’ taken from their forthcoming album on Hudson Records.
Described as a modern-day hippie-spiritual, the latest offering from Israel Nash is expansive and intimate, personal and universal, spawned of despair but fuelled by hope, it flies on a higher plane. Book a seat.
The pure joy that Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard found playing together is perfectly captured on a set of newly unearthed recordings, Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969, out September 21 on Free Dirt Records.
Watch the latest video from Los Angeles-based Thumpasaurus for their new single ‘Flamingo Song’. Without a doubt, one of the best videos I’ve seen all year. The band are currently preparing for the release of their debut album The Book Of Thump, due July 24th.
