Eliza Carthy has carved out a successful career to become one of Britain’s leading folk artists. Whether tackling traditional folk music (as per 1998’s ‘Rice’), or her adding folk elements to adult contemporary music (2011’s ‘Neptune’), Carthy’s albums are often solid, thoughtful affairs. Somewhere over the water, Tim Eriksen has made his name taking traditional American folk roots and adding his own charm, firstly as a member of Cordelia’s Dad, but also in a stripped back solo setting. The talents of these two geographically opposed musicians comes together for the first time on 2015’s ‘Bottle’, a record that’s quite dark in places, but often rich in appeal; the largely unaccompanied talents of both folkies left to stand starkly.
Tag Archives: folk
SKINNY LISTER – Down On Deptford Broadway
Skinny Lister will be known to some as a band who’ve shared a label and toured with Frank Turner; to others, a band who’ve made regular appearances at festivals, their quasi-drunken jigs designed to gee up those unwashed tent dwellers well on their way to having a skinful of Doom Bar. …And “designed” is somewhat of a sticking point here. Where you may feel The Pogues had a natural flair for drunken gigs and aggressive performances – it’s well documented that the Pogues bought the party with them wherever, whenever necessary – with Skinny Lister, any relative rowdiness seems very much a facade. Like Bellowhead (a bunch of public schoolboys trying to fool us into thinking they have deep traditions and folk roots) or Mumford & Sons (folk music for those who know almost nothing about folk music), Skinny Lister often sound as if they’re landing on their chosen bandwagon with a mighty thud. The bulk of ‘Down on Deptford Broadway’ is faux folk of the very worst kind.
CLOUD ATLAS – Beyond The Vale
Cloud Atlas is a melodic rock/prog rock band based in York, formed from the fragments of various other prog rock/folk-prog bands. Vocalist Heidi Widdop will be known to some listeners as being the first vocalist with Mostly Autumn, as well as being a integral part of subsequent off-shoot Breathing Space and the short-lived Stolen Earth, the latter a band that also featured future Cloud Atlas guitarist/bassist Martin Ledger. Joining them is drummer Ian Halford and – new to the sometimes confusing and rather incestuous MA family tree – keysman Dave Randall. A guest bass is supplied by Stu Carver (also ex-Mostly Autumn).
FRANK TURNER – The Third Three Years
Frank Turner is one of those artists who just never stops working. If he’s not recording a new album, he’s touring. If he’s not touring, he’s recording radio sessions. If he’s not recording radio sessions, he’s touring. If he’s not touring, he’s recording extra material for b-sides or stand-alone EPs. It’s no wonder that his solo career has spawned compilation discs of album length every three years. This traditional taking stock resulted in a third compilation – predictably titled ‘The Third Three Years’ – in the autumn of 2014. While this particular instalment of FT’s extra-curricular recordings is, perhaps, a little more reliant on covers and live/session material than the previous two anthologies, the twenty one track disc brings plenty of enjoyable material for the Turner fan.
Frank Turner set to release ‘Third Three Years’
In November, Frank Turner will release a twenty one track rarities compilation focusing on recordings from 2011-2014.
‘The Third Three Years’ follows popular similarly themed comps ‘The First Three Years’ and ‘The Second Three Years’, now available via Xtra Mile Recordings.
The full details – including tracklist – are laid out in the press release below.