Tag Archives: album review

Singer-songwriter: album review – Jake Aaron ‘Livingston Sessions’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , ,

Three years on from the release of his previous solo album Always Seeking, guitarist and singer-songwriter Jake Aaron is back with a follow-up. Livingston Sessions is named after Livingston Studios in London, where it was recorded. The album features the same line-up of musicians that played on his previous album, namely  with Steve Lodder on keyboards, Davide Mantovani on bass and Marc Parnell on drums.

Jake Aaron: “I wrote the pieces on my latest album at different times over the years, but they seemed to belong together in style – something between folk and jazz. With the opportunity to bring together the excellent line-up from Always Seeking once again, it felt like the right time to record them.”

The jazzy, ambient ‘It’ll Be Alright’ was first released as a single back in 2025. Aaron: “We discussed recording this with some lead guitar but Steve’s piano is so superb and atmospheric it wasn’t needed. During the session, Kenny Jones, the engineer, mentioned he listened to this track on repeat through underwater headphones while swimming.”

Lyrical themes on the album, which comprises a mix of both songs and instrumental pieces, include the long-running feud between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis (‘Duel’); the Japanese soldier who remained a staunch defender of his island holdout 29 years after the Second World War ended (‘Hiroo Onoda’) and the final thought processes of crew members on a wrecked ship (‘Watery Moon’).

Musically, the album encompasses jazz and folk influences with individual tracks also taking a peek at 1950s doo-wop, soul, avante garde and experimental.

Always a fascinating artist, both musically and lyrically, and one with an instinctive feel for pulling together seasoned collaborators for his various projects, Livingston Sessions is another Jaje Aaron album that’s well worth a listen.

Released: 12 November 2026 https://jakeaaron.com/livingston-sessions

Related posts:

‘Gotta Believe’: guitarist / singer-songwriter Jake Aaron rocks out with jazz fusion giant, John Etheridge

Always Seeking: interview with guitarist and singer songwriter – Jake Aaron

Interview: Darren talks Fag Ash and Beer with guitarist/singer-songwriter Jake Aaron

Folk: album review – Bird in the Belly ‘Only Dogs as Friends’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , ,

In spite of the resultant buzz around Bird in the Belly’s 2018 debut album, The Crowing, the Sussex-based four-piece didn’t appear on my radar until the following year when the follow-up, Neighbours and Sisters, was released and immediately announced itself to me as one of the stand-out folk albums of the year. Another well-received follow-up, After the City, was released in 2022 and now, some four years later, we have their long-awaited follow-up.

With their typically forensic approach to unearthing compelling historical tales, Only Dogs as Friends tackles the theme of criminality and features a gruesome cast of notorious villains across its twelve songs which are drawn from a mixture of traditional broadsides, published poems and original compositions, all set to newly-composed melodies.

Ben ‘Jinwoo’ Webb: “We wanted to focus on outsiders – people who have been feared or were fearful. As always, we tried to find overlooked stories and songs and this album is very character driven.”

Highlights include the thrillingly dark title track, which tells the tale of a burglar who was shot dead in the Sussex coastal town of Shoreham-by-Sea but only identified when a stray dog came into the pub were his body was being held and immediately recognised it’s felonious former master.

Once again, Bird in the Belly’s trademark contrasting vocals of Ben Webb and Laura Ward are ably backed by the immensely talented duo of multi-instrumentalist Tom Prior and percussionist, Adam Ronchetti.

Gripping story-telling, enchanting harmonies and beautifully-composed melodies, Only Dogs as Friends maintains the achingly high standards that Bird in the Belly have continued to set for themselves and is an utterly compelling album.

Released: 30 October 2026 https://www.birdinthebelly.com/

Related review:

Album review – Bird in the Belly ‘After the City’

Album review – Bird In The Belly ‘Neighbours and Sisters’

Folk: album review – Spell Songs ‘In Thin Air’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , ,

Originally commissioned by the organisers of the Folk By The Oak festival, the Spell Songs project was initially conceived as a one-off project but are now onto their third album.

Spell Songs brought together seven outstanding musicians and comprises Karine Polwart (tenor guitar/vocals), Julie Fowlis (whistles/vocals), Seckou Keita (kora/percussion/vocals), Kris Drever (guitars/bass/vocals), Rachel Newton (electroharp/viola/vocals), Beth Porter (cello/ukulele/vocals) and Jim Molyneux (piano/keyboards/drums/percussion/vocals).

Following the success of the initial album The Lost Words Spell Songs in 2019 and its follow-up Let The Light In in 2021, In Thin Air is released as a musical companion to the acclaimed work by artist, Jackie Morris, and conservation writer, Robert Macfarlane, whose The Book of Birds was published earlier this year.

As I look onto our communal back-garden here on the south coast with its abundance of blackberries and newly-installed bird bath, I like to pride myself on how many feathered visitors we get in a typical day. Should that lull me into a false sense of security, however, both the book and the album are a timely reminder of the threats to our natural bird population and the 49 bird species it celebrates are all on the RSPB’s Amber or Red List. An enduring presence in folksong, as Polwart reminds us, birds inhabit “our languages and stories, our art and folklore, and our individual and cultural memories.” We lose them at our peril.

Featuring twelve tracks that lean heavily on the seven key themes in the book – nest, egg, beak, song, feather, flight and migration – the album  is a stunning celebration of the life-cycle of the bird. Highlights include the title track which gently opens the album to the sound of birdsong and soft whisperings; ‘Najan (Nest)’ with its African rhythms and reminding us of the truly international flavour of some of our favourite avian visitors; and ‘Flight’ which takes us on a magical journey with its delicate melodies and sumptuous vocals.

An ambitious project that’s beautifully executed, and drawing on a captivating juxtaposition of musical influences, In Thin Air is another triumph for this hugely creative and talented seven-piece.

Released: 4 September 2026 https://www.thelostwords.org/spell-songs/

Folk: album review – Jon Loomes ‘Dust in the Sun’

Album reviews, Folk music, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Dust in the Sun by Jon Loomes is presented as a ‘lost’ English folk album, recorded in the long hot summer of 1976.

According to the press blurb: “A troubled artist made a remarkable folk album whose creation was beset by difficulties. Almost immediately, the label collapsed into insolvency. A pressing plant fire destroyed almost the entire original run, after which the album slipped into rumour and half-memory, after which the album slipped into rumour and half memory. Dust in the Sun was long thought lost forever. Miraculously, a single copy arrived into the present day, and the album has now been reissued to mark its fiftieth anniversary.”

This is an all an elaborate scene-setting fiction, of course. Unlike yours truly I doubt Loomes was even old enough to be spending the summer of ’76 tearing around the streets on a chopper bike, let alone recording long lost folk albums.

What the album does do, however, is authentically capture the ambience and repertoire of some of the great folk albums of that era, with an affectionate nod to artists such as Martin Carthy and Nic Jones.

There’s plenty of tried and tested classics from the Trad. Arr. repertoire that seasoned folk fans will be more than familiar with (‘Bonnie Bunch of Roses’, ‘Maid on the Shore’ ‘The Female Drummer’ et al). Yet in spite of the luridly tongue-in-cheek nature of the album’s back-story there is a sincerity and a passion behind Loomes’ interpretations that immediately brings the songs, and their vivid story-telling, to life.

https://jonloomes.bandcamp.com/track/bonnie-bunch-of-roses

Add in some authentic period production, some beautiful accompaniment to Loomes’ vocals and guitar (Rachel Crowther – bass; Tom Kitching – fiddle; Trolsynx – side drum; Rakoczy – English pipes; recorder, concertina; Gill Loomes-Quinn – Dulcimer; and Becky Turner – Uillean pipes) and you have the makings of a genuinely compelling folk album. And for those who are intrigued to find out more about the album’s fictional back-story, there’s even an accompanying novel.

Released: June 2026 https://jon-loomes.com/home

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Diamond Rainbows’

Album reviews, Folk music, Rock music, , , , , ,

Diamond Rainbows is the fifth album from the Julie July Band and their fourth album of original material. Their first, back in 2018, was a tribute to the late Sandy Denny, representing a foundational plank of their live show. Although Denny herself drew on a much wider range of influences than the folk rock label usually given to her would imply, with each successive release the Julie July Band have been on a mission to broaden the palette of musical textures they draw from. The results have been consistently pleasing and Diamond Rainbows is no exception.

The joyfully optimistic ‘Sunny Day’ with its jaunty fiddle playing is a classic slice of English folk rock while opening track ‘Riverside’ has that lush West Coast feel from the golden age of introspective singer-songwriter albums. The Eagles-ish ‘Just a Little’ again picks up that West Coast vibe. Meanwhile, ‘Medicine Man’ with its energetic rhythms coupled with gorgeous vocal harmonies put me in mind of songs like Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’. Elsewhere on the album there’s some more ethereal prog-rock influences and even a touch of gypsy jazz.

In short, while the songs exude freshness and vibrancy, the influences are pleasingly familiar, without ever straying into the formulaic.

As the Julie July Band themselves put it: “Diamond Rainbows celebrates the excitement of hearing new songs for the very first time. Every classic song was once unknown. This collection is an invitation to rediscover that sense of musical discovery.”

Throw in some top-notch musicianship from seasoned players, crystal clear vocals, beautiful harmonies and great song-writing and you’ve got the perfect summer album. Diamond Rainbows is highly recommended.

Released: 20th June 2026 https://www.juliejuly.co.uk/

Related posts:

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Wonderland’

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes?’ – A Tribute To Sandy Denny

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Lady of the First Light’

Folk-rock: album review – Julie July Band ‘Flight Of Fancy’

Folk: album review – Bity Booker ‘There’s No Song About a Stone’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , ,

I first came across the delightful Bity Booker supporting Green Diesel in Brighton last summer. Describing her as “a London-based alt-folk singer-songwriter with beautiful songs, a sweet voice and some hilariously deadpan introductions” her performance certainly left an impression on me. Now she has an album out, which she refers to as her “first non-debut album”.

Bity Booker at the Folklore Rooms, Brighton – Photo credit: Darren Johnson

Bity Booker: “I call it a ‘non-debut album’ because I have long been making music in different forms, from death metal to alternative folk, so it feels strange calling it a ‘debut album’. It is the product of years of songwriting and performing solo as Bity Booker. I do take my time making things in a way that makes me happy, out of the commercial sphere and outside of norms and rules. I like to think of my creations as something organically formed and shaped by time, dreams, thoughts, rain and wind. These tape recordings feel very much alive, in the background you can hear sounds of birds, people, the sounds of London, all of which were in the room with me while recording.”

Photo credit: Stef Martin

Featuring Booker’s magical voice, her classical guitar and nine of her unique and never less than utterly charming compositions, There’s No Song About a Stone was recorded at home on a four-track tape recorder over a three-year period in South London and Thanet.

The natural world is a recurring theme in Booker’s songs or, more accurately, the natural world as a metaphor for human emotions: love, hope, sadness and a sense of belonging. The latter is very much the sentiment behind ‘Parrots in London’, Booker’s delightful paean to the growing population of feral parakeets who have made London their home. The song never fails to raise a smile when performed live, with its knowing nod to one of the capital’s most enduring urban myths (‘Some say they escaped from Jimi Hendrix’s cage’).

It’s certainly not all light and whimsical though and darker themes are explored in songs like ‘The Ballad of Lost Town’ and ‘A Tear’. Whatever the subject matter, Booker’s beguiling honesty as a performer and natural gift as a storyteller shine through.

Released: 5th June 2026 https://www.bitybooker.com/

Related post:

Bity Booker and Green Diesel in Brighton – June 2025

This week’s featured artist: John Paul Mason – debut album ‘Overstory’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , , , ,

John Paul Mason is a Scottish singer-songwriter whose debut album, Overstory, was released late last Autumn. Originally from Edinburgh, but now based in Comrie, Perthshire, Mason draws inspiration from the natural beauty of his surroundings, and the mountains, rivers, forests, and lochs that define his home.

As a breathwork therapist and trainer, Mason integrates his therapeutic work into his songwriting. His stated mission is to create music that seeks to heal, awaken, and inspire.

Influenced by artists like Spell Songs, Will Varley, Kris Drever, and Krishna Das, Mason’s sound is a blend of modern Scottish folk, spiritual resonance, and environmental activism. Using guitars, cello, and violin, his music weaves together poignant storytelling and a call to action, echoing the transformative power of nature and community.

His ten-track album, showcasing titles such as ‘Forest’, ‘Nightingale’, ‘Sweet Spirit’ and ‘Crows’, represents a beautiful interplay between folk and nature.

Writing in the sleeve-notes, John Paul Mason asks: “What would a life-affirming story look like? Perhaps if we listen, quietly, closely, by a stream or within a forest to those remaining wild things we share our world with, and to the whisperings of our own soul, nature might, just maybe, bring us back home.”

Alongside Mason on guitar and vocals are some stunning contributions from assorted guest musicians who provide  bass, percussion, string arrangements and backing vocals, together with some lovely choral backing from the Earnsong Choir on the penultimate track, ‘Carry Me’.

With its enchanting melodies, powerful eco-themed story-telling and classy production, Overstory is a wonderfully uplifting debut album and John Paul Mason is an endearing performer with much to say.

Overstory released: 21 November 2025 https://johnpaulmason.com/

Folk: album review – Honey & The Bear ‘A Wish & A Tide’

Album reviews, Folk music, , , , , , ,

Already with three albums under their belt, the popular East Anglian folk duo, Honey & The Bear, have just released a fourth. Featuring eleven original songs, A Wish & A Tide could well be their best album yet. Once more, the husband and wife team of Jon and Lucy Hart delve deep into Suffolk’s landscapes and legends for inspiration as well as exploring more personal themes of love, loss and resilience.

Lucy Hart: “This album has been 14 months in the making. At the start of 2025 Jon hit on a songwriting streak and decided it was time to start work on our fourth album… and here we are. A collection of songs with far-ranging inspiration. We feature a few myths and legends from our Suffolk home, as well as taking inspiration from nature around us and historic tales, but we’ve also taken a much more inward look with some poignant numbers that can only be written after experiencing something truly life altering. We hope you’ll find beauty in it … and maybe something you’ll find yourself connecting with.”

The song-writing is as thoughtful, perceptive and compelling as ever, the gentle melodies soar with some dazzling musicianship and the harmony vocals of Lucy and Jon are just sublime. Once again, the duo’s regular cast of supporting musicians, Toby Shaer (flutes, whistles and fiddle), Archie Churchill-Moss (accordion), Evan Carson (percussion and bodhran) and Graham Coe (cello), add some truly magical touches. A particular mention must go to Shaer’s flute-playing on tracks like ‘Close to the Edge’ which complements the duo’s vocals and melodies so perfectly, it’s almost starting to become part of their USP.

Honey & The Bear continue to impress, with every album even more of a delight than the previous one. A Wish & A Tide is no exception.

Released: 23 April 2026 https://honeyandthebear.co.uk/

Related posts:

Album review: Honey & The Bear – Away Beyond The Fret

Album review – Honey and The Bear ‘Journey Through The Roke’

Live review: Moore, Moss, Rutter at Cecil Sharp House 13/4/16

Live review: Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention August 2018

Alt-rock: album review – Vinyl Floor ‘Balancing Act’

Album reviews, Rock music, , , , , , ,

Balancing Act is the sixth album from Danish alt-rock outfit, Vinyl Floor. Built around the nucleus of multi-instrumentalist brothers, Charlie and Daniel Pederson, the duo handle most of the musical duties themselves but expand their sound with some carefully-chosen guest musicians. The emphasis is firmly on catchy melodies and vibrant musical textures, with an array of strings, horns and vintage-sounding keyboards enriching the basic guitar-drums-bass indie-rock template.

Vinyl Floor: “Balancing Act is about trying to balance life and searching for beauty and meaning in a world full of chaos, treason,  insecurity and false promises. A world which itself currently seems out of balance.”

That’s a balancing act many of us are trying to pull off, of course, with varying degrees of success but I will say that here the scales very much tip towards the side of optimism. There’s a warmth about this album that undoubtedly puts one in a better mood for having listening to it.

Appearing alongside the Pederson brothers are the Swedish multi-instrumentalist Bebe Risenfors (whose CV includes work with Tom Waits and Elvis Costello) on horns and upright bass; Danish classical musician, Christian Ellegaard (who is a member of the national Danish Symphony Orchestra) on strings; and guitarist Daniel Hecht (of the Danish hard rock band, Franklin Zoo) who contributes additional guitar on a couple of tracks.

Intelligent indie rock with gorgeous sounds, lush harmonies and great hooks, Balancing Act grapples with contemporary angst with a firm nod to vintage pop-rock and in the process creates something that’s both satisfying and uplifting.

Released: 27 February 2026 https://www.facebook.com/vinylfloorband

Related post:

Album review – Thomas Charlie Pederson ‘Daylight Saving Hours’

Americana: album review – Valerie Smith ‘Maggie’s Journal’

Album reviews, americana, , , , , , ,

Missouri-born, Valerie Smith is a renowned Americana, roots and bluegrass singer who has been recording and performing since the late ‘90s. Her latest project, Maggie’s Journal, is an ambitious double-disc album which has been twelve years in the making, inspired by the journals of her late grandmother, Margaret. Decades after Margaret’s death, a journal was discovered in a trunk in the attic by Smith’s cousins, giving a raw and powerful first-hand account of life in late-nineteenth century rural Missouri. Detailing a brutal existence marred by poverty, domestic violence, infant mortality, spousal addiction and endless betrayal, Little House on the Prairie this is not.

Valerie Smith: “Her story was surprising for many reasons; she had told no one of her younger years. We found out that she had been married at a very early age to a violent man, and we also learned that under her hardened exterior was a beautiful, kind, and gentle soul. She has a story to tell and her words are very personal, emotional, and raw. To me, her story is a masterpiece about life was like on the Missouri farms after the Civil War. This project took me 12 years to create because I literally felt that I was writing music with my great-grandmother, Maggie, whom I had never met.”

Featuring a mixture of original song compositions and spoken-word readings over musical accompaniment across it’s thirty tracks, Maggie’s Journal, is an enormously powerful tale of hardship, endurance and resilience but ultimately one of independence, love and fulfilment. Smith is a powerful storyteller and while the words do not always make for comfortable listening, it’s an absolutely gripping album that’s beautifully performed.

Released: 1 January 2026 https://thevaleriesmith.com/