This blog is intended to do "exactly what it says on the tin" so below are some of my 'Thoughts on Music'. They predominantly concern recent matters but will not always do so. I'll also happily turn to matters of the music industry more generally if and when I feel so inclined. So there!
If you don't agree with something please feel free to add a comment. They are moderated by me (so I'll get to read it) and I might even reply. Above all however just enjoy whatever music you like!
Richard
'Projection' is the brand new release by duo Sinnober based in Frome, Somerset. It follows their 2016 release 'Little Wars'.
Sinnober - Projection (self-released, 1 October 2018).
One hundred physical albums with a full lyric booklet are available, on CDhere, to those that would like such a thing and the track list is below.
Sinnober - Projection:
Angels of Fire and Snow
No Regrets
True North
When A Knight Won His Spurs
Garbo's Song
Successful
I Don't Wanna Read The News
Alexandra Leaving
Just in case you were wondering, you really do need to see Sinnober live. Here they are playing the acoustic stage at a new festival back at the start of this summer.
This is an album that, having seen the artist behind it live several times, I have been waiting upon for some time. It is her first full length and it follows on from the 2016 Tide and Time EP that I mentioned here.
Kitty Macfarlane - Namer Of Clouds (Navigator Records, 21 September 2018).
This LP and the aforementioned EP share only one track and that is the EP's opener 'Wrecking Days'. This is the track list for the LP.
Kitty Macfarlane - Namer Of Clouds
Starling Song
Namer Of Clouds
Seventeen
Sea Silk
Morgan's Pantry
Glass Eel
Wrecking Days
Dawn & Dark
Frozen Charlotte
Man, Friendship
Inversnaid
One track that particularly caught my attention when first I heard it live at North Dorset Folk Festival last autumn is Glass Eel. That particular festival is sadly no more but here she is playing it at a brand new festival that I had the pleasure of attending just two months ago.
This is acoustic folk but with a contemporary and often environmentally aware twist but it isn't overtly political. It doesn't have to be; it is too well crafted to need that crutch upon which to stand.
It's never been rare that I feature artists from Canada performing in the folk, roots and Americana space. This is another one of them - the artist here hails from from Grande Prairie, Alberta. It is an EP as good as I have heard this year but perhaps not something I might have expected to be released on a major label. It is acoustic.
Tenille Townes - Living Room Worktapes EP (Columbia Nashville, 13 April 2018).
Where You Are
Jersey on the Wall
Somebody's Daughter
White Horse
Four tracks is all you get but it is a triumph of quality over quantity. I'm not in the business of making comparisons but I'd say a full album is worth the wait, however long that may be.
I'm minded to take an audio 'road trip' through recent Canadian music sooner rather than later. There's plenty on my mind, several of which I am looking forward to seeing play live at festivals this summer.
What awaits here is no less than forty-something minutes of acoustic-string-band music virtuosity, courtesy of Brittany Haas (fiddle), Paul Kowert (upright bass), Dominick Leslie (octave mandolin) and Jordan Tice (guitar). Some of it is actually recorded live with an audience and these pieces are intercut with the studio recordings.
This is another release from 2017 that has just appeared on my radar and it is the debut full-length from Cat Clyde who hails from Stratford, Ontario, Canada.
Ivory Castanets - Cat Clyde (RED distribution, 5 May 2017).
Cat Clyde - Ivory Castanets:
Sheets Of Green
The Meadow
Running Water
Like A Wave
Heavy Weight
Mama Said
The Man I Loved Blues
Move Along
Walkin' Down The Road
Chimes In The Night
I have listened to the album end-to-end three times this evening. This is fairly unusual behaviour even by my own standards. It is certainly somewhat old-time but that's not really the issue here because the combination of voice, guitar (sometimes slide-acoustic) and keyboards is sublime. The production is not lo-fi but neither is it polished to a point that it might impact on the experience. I'm not going to select a track from the album just now. Instead, and because I suggest that it indicates her desire to push on, this is a track that has been released since then.
The River - Cat Clyde (November 2017).
What we need now is to see her touring over here in the UK.
I mentioned this yesterday. Towards the end of 2017 I started a Friday spot on Facebook in which I mention a music release that has captured my attention. I'm planning to revive that idea after the break for Christmas and New Year although perhaps not every week. I rather like the idea of more blog posts but the two are not incompatible by any means. To date it has been a very recent release but I'm thinking that this should not always be the case.
Hunter Huntress Hawker - Laura Cannell (Brawl Records, 20 October 2017).
This album (it is actually her fourth) is one that, while I mentioned it on Facebook, has not appeared here before. You may find it challenging but I'm not going to apologise for that. It has two key-words that might be used to describe it that tend to put people off - experimental and improvised. It was recorded live in a ruined church (St. Andrew, Covehithe, Suffolk) that is the only significant structure that remains of a one-thriving fishing community on the east coast of England, the rest of which has now been almost entirely claimed by coastal erosion. Half-an-hour of truly haunting over-bowed violin playing might just make the cold and damp of early January seem rewarding. I have wavered about choosing a tune (for they are all thus, there are no words). I decided on this:
The penultimate item on the collection - Nordhalla.
It's a continuum, whatever the calendar might imply to the contrary. Increasingly, and this is much to my liking, the release of new music pays little heed to that nowadays. Now twenty years of age and relocated to York, this is not her first release by any means but it is quite a statement of intent. The only traditional song on it is Hares on the Mountain. Tilly Moses - Alight & Adrift:
Definitions
Water Man
Paper Conflicts
Fear With Fire
Harbour (feat. Sam Kelly)
One of Them
Flatlands
Lonely Birds
Hares on the Mountain
Ragdoll
Footprints
Whisky
This is certainly not the only album released in 2017 that invokes the east coast of England and has captivated me. Another notable one, at least in my opinion, will follow in a post tomorrow. The great thing about them is that they are actually very different indeed. This first might possibly be the most accessible of the two, it is certainly the more lyrical but neither suffers from comparison with the other.
It has been a long time since I saw Coco & The Buttterfields live but here is a reminder that they have a lot of new music coming soon. This is the video for Battlegrounds that appeared almost exactly one year ago. It's still worth the wait.
The last time was at Cambridge Folk Festival 2015 and this was taken then. I intend to continue my lists of 2017 music over the coming weekend and I hope there will be some surprises in the selection.
This follows from my previous post in that I realise sometimes it takes new music time to reveal itself to me. This is a more extreme case in that I first heard it almost a year ago. It has more recently become a a go-to album especially when I find myself in a somewhat ambivalent mood. There is something about it that works for me. That mood is not actually the case just now and probably why I have finally seen my way around to writing about it.
Vagabond Saint - Angelina (WONDERFULSOUND, 2 December 2016). D/l & vinyl.
Vagabond Saint - Angelina:
Dark Heart
Rose Cascade
Mandolin Man
I Don't Cry
January Butterfly
Prayers and Grace
Vagabond Saint
Smokes Like A Dream
Manola
Wild Cloud
Sometimes
It's soulful, smoky, southern, pastoral and she wrote the songs too. The artist comes from the nearest that the UK has to an island in the delta, the Isle of Wight, but don't let that put you off. Had I found it in time last year it would have been on my year-end list. That it was released when it was is a great commitment to the fact that fine new releases no longer stop at the start of November in fawning to the 'don't-offend-anyone' Christmas market fare of decades past.
It is better to buy (or give, or be given) an album you love and an album you detest than end up with two albums that don't evoke much response either way.
You might know about my love of the EP format by now. This is a shining example of why that is so.
In My Blood EP - Dryadic (self-released, 20 October 2017).
Dryadic is a Brighton-based two-piece one half of which is Zora Macdonald, formerly the lead of The Tatsmiths. We are going back a few years but that is fine by me. The Tatsmiths recorded an LP Curiosity Shop (2012) here in my home town of Frome, Somerset. That was followed by the Occupy EP (2015). You need to listen to these and not least because they place the new direction and therefore this release in a context that makes complete sense. This latest is a true EP, comprising just three songs, and includes the use of a fantastically rare English language verb in a song title. Sometimes less is actually rather more than you bargained for. It is a wonderful thing. Dryadic - In My Blood:
As well as starting my consideration of all the new music that I have had the pleasure of finding or otherwise being introduced to in 2017 there is absolutely no shortage of brand new releases that are coming my way. This is one of them.
A solo acoustic blues artist from the UK that I have seen live a couple of times --- Half Deaf Clatch is the project of Kingston-upon-Hull based Andrew McClatchie. This is stomp-box and (often slide) guitar accompanied music from the Humber "delta" of East Yorkshire. This is his latest release and whilst running for over forty minutes it comprises just two tracks. He is possibly a 'Marmite' thing – love or hate but nothing between.
CrowSoul - Half Deaf Clatch (Speak Up Recordings, 12 October 2017).
He is a determinedly independent artist (Speak Up Recordings is his self-run label) and also an extremely prolific one so if you like this style of music you are in luck. CrowSoul is his second full-length release of 2017. The other, which is of songs inspired by consideration of The Great War, is 'Forever Forward' that came hot on the heels of 'Simple Songs for These Complicated Times' (2016) and 'The Life and Death of A.J Rail (2015).
If you are having a Hallowe'en themed occasion in the coming weeks you could use this as part of the soundtrack.
This has nothing directly to do with the festivals I have been to over this summer. It has a great deal to do with the variety of music that garners my attention. It is also a possible pointer towards my change of direction when it comes to festivals that I'm considering visiting in 2018. I'm almost certain that I have never seen any of the four artists that form the core of Top Floor Taivers live in any of their many and various other guises. This is their first album together as such. Their recorded works as individuals or other bands are a however a different matter and I have listened to them.
A Delicate Game, Top Floor Taivers (TFT Records, 28 February 2017).
Recorded it is a slightly different consideration - as a trans-Britain-and-Ireland collective this is quite something. It treats traditional songs with grace and pressure, but also includes versions of modern folk songs such as Richard Thompson's '1952 Vincent Black Lightning'. The best comes with some new compositions such as 'Jeanie and the Spider' that rate alongside anything else here. If you want my opinion then it is that this album is under-rated. The version of the traditional Scottish song 'Johnnie of Braidieslee' is as good as it could be. The origin, and age, of the song is anyone's guess; possibly 17th century in approximately current form but it might have origins older than that and have been updated and reconstructed to suit the times. It really doesn't matter that much. For the curious, here is the track-list: Top Floor Taivers - A Delicate Game:
Johnnie of Braidieslee
Princess Rosanna
The False Bride
Everybody Knows
1952 Vincent Black Lightning
Jeannie and the Spider
Campfires
Ramblin' Rover
10 Little Men
I don't think that I could leave you hanging, with nothing to listen to, so here are a couple of tunes that are not on the album.
'Captain Ward' (traditional) and 'The Porterhead Reel' (Gráinne Brady).
One principal artist and two releases make up this little pot of gold. I should have mentioned the first months ago but I didn't, which is entirely my fault. With another now available to pre-order the time is right.
This is the forthcoming one (1 September 2017)... you can order it here.
With Iona on acoustic guitar and vocals and Abi Plowman on violin and backing vocals this release consists of six tracks.
Iona Lane - Pockets EP:
Weighted Dice
The Loch Tay Boat Song
Living Life out of Pockets
Carved by Another
Northern Town
The Leaving Song
This is the first song to be released from it.
Back in February of this year she released the EP Solace. It was recorded with more of a full band sound.
Iona Lane - Solace EP:
Amsterdam
Sometimes
Fly or Fall
I'll Run Without You
Which of the four songs here is my favourite very much depends on my mood at the time. I'll go with opening song 'Amsterdam' that has an guitar intro that reminds me of many things and also nothing at the same time, which is very appropriate to the lyric.
The same is true of the seven songs on the 2015 'Dry Stone Walls EP'.
Taken in total this amounts to a considerable body of original work and one that I enjoy listening to very much. If you have none of the above you can get all 3 EPs (and a cover of Joni Mitchell's 'A Case Of Me') for £12.60 here. If I were you then I would.
I have had a break from writing, but not from listening and now I'm back after a case of writer's block. I am planning a number of posts, including another imaginary journey, but just now this has taken precedence over that more complicated project. Released only last week it is wonderful music for the late evening when the heat of the day its making way for late evening darkness.
Its nine tracks span 41 minutes and soon after you start listening all sense of time becomes an illusion. It should be, and I'm told that this is true, absolutely unmissable live. This could well turn out to be one of the great new albums and artists of 2017.
This is just so welcome news. From Dublin, but also Americana and roots inspired, please embrace the return of 'I Draw Slow'. Centered around siblings Dave and Louise Holden the band is so much more than that.
Thanks to many people, not least the band, this is the next in a series of posts about new music that has grabbed my attention for all the right reasons.
There is also a song about the plight of coal miners 'Rose Of The Hill' and one about railways 'This Train', so that has most of my folk interests covered. This is the variety you get here and it is well worth your time to explore it. Oka Vanga is well and truly added to my list of acts to see live.
All classically trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire, Threaded comprises:
Jamie Rutherford - vocals, guitar
Ning-ning Li - violin
Rosie Bott - clarinet
Their music is contemporary folk, both tunes and songs, not least for the inclusion of clarinet. As far as I am aware these are all new compositions but if I'm wrong about that please let me know. This is the track list:
Sometimes, maybe it is that time of year, I awake to the idea of Spring, albeit as yet unrealised, and some ideas of silliness that befit the March Hare. This is exactly that - the band name is stupendously unhinged - and it comes from Australia; Sydney for the most part. This is just pure delight --- unadulterated and un-adult-rated. Amazon.com reckons that it is rock while Amazon.co.uk reckons it is pop and that only shows that it's not so obvious that it can be pigeonholed. I'll just say that it's a whole lot of fun because it is easy to take music too seriously and there is no real need to do that. The album art effortlessly rolls back four decades and then some, into the bargain.
All Our Exes Live In Texas - When We Fall (self-released/Whirlwind Entertainment LLC, 3 March 2017).
When We Fall - All Our Exes Live In Texas:
The Devil's Part
I'm Gonna Get My Heart Cut Out
Boundary Road
When the Sun Comes Up
Tell Me
Parking Lot
Candle
Sailboat
Oh Lover of Mine
Don't Cry
Childhood Home
Cadillac
Modern folk-harmony anyone. If anything at all it has echoes of The Pipettes (at least to me) and on the other hand it is rather less cynical. Does it really matter when it sounds this good and that Pipettes album is now ten years old? Of course it doesn't! These acoustic sprites are: Hannah Crofts --- vocals, ukulele Georgia Mooney --- vocals, mandolin Elana Stone --- vocals, accordion Katie Wighton --- vocals, guitar Just something to make the coming week seem a little better and remind one that there is always so much new music out there waiting to be discovered, enjoyed and championed.
This is the new release from the trio Wildwood Kin based in the south-west of England. The music strays far beyond that locale and furthermore 'The Author' is a song more contemplative when compared to 'Warrior Daughter' that was released in 2016.
In addition to the release of this new song, and an album to follow soon, the band has just been announced as the recipient of an award to be presented at the UK Americana Awards 2017 that take place at St. John's, Hackney, London on 2 February. To put that in proper context, Bob Harris has been around the sun a fair few times and in the top echelons of new and independent music discovery for a very long time too: 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' with Bob presenting ended decades ago (it ran thus from 1971-1978). In that sense he has been there since the start of my music experiences. I still remember seeing bits of that as a child. Since then he has become something of a lodestar for those interested in roots and acoustic music beyond simply UK and Irish folk and through most of those decades it wasn't a part of mainstream musical fashion, to say the least. How times have changed!
The Author (Croft Sessions, in collaboration with Sidmouth Fringe).
It would appear that I didn't mention the release of 'Warrior Daughter' at the time, although I certainly intended to do so, so I shall make amends now.
Here is the video for that song too:
Warrior Daughter (official video).
As soon as learn more about the album I'll be reporting back; don't imagine otherwise.
Looking back on my recent post concerning 'EPs and mini albums of 2016' it has struck me that there are several rather surprising omissions. One of them is the 'Foreign Waters EP' by Emily Mae Winters.
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