Seuras Og

An intriguingly powerful set and a welcome return from Firefay and Alison O’Donnell with a striking use of instrumentation. Embrace the noir.

Are Tindersticks getting better and better? On the evidence of ‘Distractions’, the answer is yes. A mesmerising listen that demands repeated immersion.

Sun June’s ‘Somewhere’ is a charmer, deceptively slight, each listen uncovering a nuance of sound or sense unnoticed previously. Capable both of bringing thoughts to life or extinguishing them completely.

Jack Cade’s latest offering is a relentless and glorious wallow in imperfect contrition. Very much a lockdown record, one for dark nights, short days and a hope in your heart. A red sky at night record and an astonishing one.

Hadrian’s Union return with a rousing set of songs on their new EP Permission. Founder, Stew Simpson, has done well to expand his vision into a fuller band setting.

Hopefully, they can and will deliver this live next year at more than just their planned headliner at 2021’s Orkney Folk Festival, I for one am willing to travel some distance to experience the Orkney Monster.

Most of these tunes will stick in your head and involve many a trip to Bandcamp and the equivalents, as well as the purchase of this album helping defray the 2020 losses to the festival organisers. That’s a win, win, win.

A terrific listen for a lockdown winter night, dreaming of a return to outside summer music, hopefully, next year. Make sure Merry Hell are playing where you go; I will be.

With Spectre, Archie Moss and Tom Moore set out to help re-define how British instrumental folk music is made. They have certainly added something that warrants attention.