Albums

C’mon is Low’s follow-up to their 2007 tensely charged Drums & Guns. It is by no stretch of the imagination a crossover, but the balance of the album offers a new vein in their musical explorations.

This is an excellent album, and one that provides a vivid visualisation of salty sea and sunrise. A story of America as narrated by a 21st Century voice that feels so wisely ancestoral in its huskiness.

Oh My Days is the third release from The Memory Band folk collective who tour with often up to as many as ten members, including Adem Ilhan (Adem), acclaimed folk/electronica artist in his own right.

It’s rather a surprise to find this Washington/Seattle harmonica brandishing trio was in fact borne from the disbandment of Pretty Girls Make Graves. Since their 2007 formation, The Cave Singers have been signed to Matador, releasing two records with the New York label before signing to Jagjaguwar in June of last year; and with whom they now release No Witch.

The Loafing Heroes call to mind dreamlike percussive soundscapes, to a lo-fi anti-electronica Efterklang. Where have they gone the amblers of yesteryear? Where have they gone, those loafing heroes of folk song, those vagabonds who wander from one mill to another and bed down under the stars?

Folk Radio UK talks to Californian born musician Alela Diane. Alela gives an intimate insight into her latest album ‘Alela Diane & Wild Divine’. She explains the reasons behind the new sound she has created and what inspires her.

The founder of the late Penguin Cafe Orchestra Simon Jeffes died in 1997. Now his son, Arthur, has taken up where his father left off, no easy task. Where do you draw the line of familiarity and creativity? Difficult as this may be the latest Penguin Cafe offering A Matter of Life… manages to offer familiar trademarks amongst new inventions.

I Am Oak is formed around the central figure of dutch singer-songwriter Thijs Kuijken who manipulates minimalistic sounds into complex gentle sound arrays using voice as the main backbone complemented by guitar, banjo, organ, minimalistic beats and samples, all put together from his bedroom.

Following up their split EP with Karine Polwart, acclaimed Scottish folk trio Lau have embarked on another collaborative effort, this time with London based musician Adem. Read Melanie’s review below.

Emily Jane White’s new album, Ode to Sentience is an album of darkness and mystery. Vocally her dulcet tones have been likened to Mazzy Star and Cat Power, a voice that is at once both rich and wispy, a subtle whisper sucking you in much like the darkness she utters of being intoxicated by.

Diamond Mine is the work or maybe I should say the pleasure of King Creosote & Jon Hopkins. It is the most beautiful album I’ve heard in a long long time, the use of field recordings take you inside the solitude of the singer for a deeply moving experience. Album of the week without a doubt, listen in full below!

Pepe Belmont’s debut release: The Hermit’s Waltz is, in a nutshell, like hearing a classic in the making, an exceptional and beautiful album! It made such a big impression on me that I rang him up to tell him! It is our album of the week so listen out for it!