Honest, in-depth album reviews by KLOF Mag – championing and curating intelligent, uncompromising voices in contemporary and experimental music since 2004.
Albums
by Mike Davies
Modern Hinterland return with The Longest Part of the Night, delving into the heart of divided modern Britain, fraught with anxiety and uncertainty and look at how this impacts on people’s relationships.
by David Kidman
Fields Of Frost is an artefact of characteristic dark beauty, its bright glistening atmosphere of comfort within joy…ever looking both back and forward, cherishing and nurturing the promise of the coming spring and rejuvenation.
by Mike Davies
Blackbird and Crow’s “Ailm” is a towering work of transcendental emotional power that trembles with both strength and vulnerability, it’s unlikely you’ll hear anything like it this year.
by Thomas Blake
On Navarasa, Yorkston/Thorne/Khan achieve a kind of serenity that is certainly spiritual but is somehow completely secular and entirely inclusive. Its influences are clearly visible, but the way those influences are put together creates a kind of music that is original, exciting and wholly unique.
by Bob Fish
Focusing on the world that exists within our own heartbeats, The Innocence Mission has created a disc that finds truth in the connections binding us to each other. It radiates a sense of love and warmth to help us through moments when those same commodities may be in short supply.
by Mike Davies
Described as lost dispatches from a forgotten America, The Family Songbook brilliantly captures the sibling kinship, vocally and emotionally, conjuring long-gone days when families would gather around the kitchen table to sing their favourite songs. Wonderful.
by Peter Shaw
Seth Lakeman’s “A Pilgrim’s Tale” condenses the story of the Mayflower with purpose and vigour. But it also tantalizes, leaving stories unresolved and details to uncover. It will be a history primer for many and there’s no better place to start your voyage than here.
by David Pratt
What is immediately apparent on The Pine Hearts fourth studio album ‘Back To Sustain’ is the immediacy and vitality of these new recordings which showcases the very best in contemporary American roots music.
by Bob Fish
Whether it’s a full choir or just a man and his guitar, the passion of Lessons of War cannot be denied. Matt McGinn’s collection of songs deserves to be heard again and again, until we finally learn the lesson and begin to find new ways to resolve the problems that confront us.
by Dave McNally
That Julie Fowlis, Éamon Doorley, Zoë Conway and John Mc Intyre are on a bill alongside Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn says a lot about the riches that this winter Festival has to offer. A wondrous evening in the charming surroundings of Glasgow City Halls.
by David Pratt
Passing In The Night, Thunder and Rain’s third and latest release, would, for me, epitomise the best of the current Americana scene, music of the highest calibre, guaranteed to brighten up your life.