After a hugely-successful three and a half decades together Steve Knightley and Phil Beer announced this year that Show Of Hands’ days as a touring unit would finally be drawing to a close. The recent Autumn 2023 tour marked their final outing as a trio (with Miranda Sykes) and a spring tour planned for next year will be their final hurrah as a duo. To coincide with this fond farewell, they have a new compilation out. Intended as a companion piece to their original 2007 Roots‘Best Of’ of compilation, Roots 2 offers up a whopping 31 tracks across two discs.
Steve Knightley: “We’ve always strived to evolve and experiment with our sound,, all the time staying true to our folk roots. We hope the diversity of this album demonstrates that and it will be a noteworthy addition to our discography.”
Immediate proof of just how long-overdue this follow-up compilation is, immediately comes in hearing just how many of my favourites from Show Of Hands can be found on this new collection: ‘Haunt You’, ‘The Long Way Home’, ‘Now You Know’ and, of course, ‘Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed’.
The earlier material isn’t neglected completely though. There’s a new version of ‘Country Life’, for example, recorded live in Exeter and reimagined as a gentle, reflective ballad rather than the rousing twenty-first century rural folk anthem we all love and know. And things are brought up to date with a gloriously celebratory live version of their 2021 ‘lockdown’ single, ‘The Best One Yet.’
Moving, poignant, rousing, anthemic (no-one does anthemic quite like Show Of Hands after all), Roots 2 is a sterling late-career retrospective of one of the most important UK folk outfits of the past four decades.
The self-styled ‘Gaelic Supergroup’, who have now been around some twenty-five years, are back with another new album. Sula was recorded on the Hebridean island of Bernera and captures the band in fine form performing a mix of traditional Gaelic songs and new band compositions.
Dàimh: “SULA is the old Norse name for the Gannet, the largest seabird in Northern Europe. As graceful soaring above the waves as they are swimming far beneath them, Gannets find strength by gathering together in close knit communities on isolated windswept outposts and perfectly embody Dàimh’s enduring connection to the Hebrides and their surrounding waters.”
Evocative bagpipe-led instrumentals, exhilarating fiddle-playing and the captivating Gaelic-language vocals of Ellen MacDonald, this is another album that wonderfully captures the beauty, vibrancy and resilience of the Gaelic music scene.
Described in the press publicity as being “the Dad’s Army of the current folk scene” the double disc album of veteran folkie, Ian Bruce, features a host of musical guests: Barbara Dickson, Bob Fox, Jez Lowe, Allan Taylor, Mike Silver and Alastair McDonald to name but a few.
Three years in the making, this ambitious project encompasses thirty-three tracks and over one hundred collaborators and initially came about as a crowd-funded lockdown project when the Covid pandemic denied Bruce his regular income as a working, gigging musician.
Ian Bruce:“Together Forever delves into personal preferences, influences and loves of the music I grew up with.”
Although there’s an acoustic folk sensibility at its heart, this is an album that spans many influences. The selections range from traditional Scottish ballads, to songs written by stalwarts of the folk revival, like the late Rab Noakes, to an impeccably tartaned-up version of Peter Sarstedt’s ‘Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?’. The comforting familiarity of many of these songs will put a smile a smile on your face and give you a warm glow inside.
Classically-trained, professional harpist, Sarah Deere-Jones, performed for many years with symphony, opera and ballet orchestras but, latterly, she has turned her attention to performing her own arrangements of traditional songs and creating original music.
A keen environmental campaigner, Deere-Jones was inspired to put her love of nature and concern for the future well-being of the natural world at the heart of A Little Piece of Eden.
Sarah Deere-Jones:“This album particularly reflects my personal feelings on the changes in rural life, from my childhood in north Dorset, to where I live today in rural Cornwall – the crash of biodiversity, the diaspora of small communities and the damage of intensive farming, these are all changes that I have witnessed with my own eyes – but in recent years the growing rewilding movement gives us hope that these problems can be solved.”
Featuring four original songs alongside eleven traditional songs and tunes and with accompaniment from guitar, gazuki and melodeon player, Phil Williams, A Little Piece of Eden is an inspiring showcase for both Sarah Deere-Jones exquisite harp-playing and her bright-burning passion for a more sustainable future.
Gareth Williams is an Irish-born composer and singer-songwriter based in Scotland. As a musician he has always sought to work across musical boundaries, from musical theatre to pop, from chamber music to opera.
In using literature as its inspirational starting point, Williams’ latest project is not unusual for a folk-based album. What does appear to be a unique approach, however, is in merely using the final line of each story as the starting point for a song.
Gareth Williams:“These songs all have one thing in common – they begin on the final page of a book. And, all the books I chose for this collection also have something in common – when I read them, I didn’t want them to end. So I took what I found in the final lines, with no words added and none taken out, and built verses, choruses, bridges, and refrains. Stories never stay on the page anyway – these ones just became songs.”
In the hands of someone less talented this could have fallen flat and risk taking us into the realms of gimmickry. But in Songs From The Last Page, Gareth Williams pulls off something that is both thought-provoking and musically interesting. Some of the books referenced I knew (Sherlock Holmes and Treasure Island – for example). Others I was completely unfamiliar with. Nevertheless, Williams’ skills as a songwriter and musician were enough to draw me in, his somewhat sombre piano providing the main musical backdrop to each of these literary flights of fancy.
Always entertaining on stage, Blazin’ Fiddles (a project that initially started out as one-off collaboration for a short five-day tour) mark their twenty-fifth century anniversary with a new release.
Recorded as-live in the studio with the aim of capturing the spontaneity of a concert performance, the album features a line-up of Bruce MacGregor, Rua Macmillan, Jenna Reid and Kristan Harvey on their respective fiddles who are joined by Anna Massie on guitar and fiddle and Angus Lyon on piano.
Blazin’ Fiddles: “Our purpose as a band has been to promote the fiddle styles of the highlands and islands and you will find the melodies of these traditions are to the fore. We’re also a band that loves to travel and absorb cultures, so we have melodies from our trips and adventures as well as a number of new compositions by band members.”
XXV is an invigorating music celebration from a band who have more than earned their place as a fixture of the Scottish traditional music scene this past quarter of a century. Highly enjoyable.
UK-based Leonardo Giuliani is a guitarist and singer-songwriter whose music embraces elements of rock, blues, country and folk. Featuring thirteen original songs, Rogue, which came out back in February, is Giuliani’s debut album.
His sound is primarily influenced by artists and bands from the late ‘60s and ‘70s, “from acoustic singer-songwriters to electric jam bands, all of whom played something different every night and made every performance unique,” he tells us. In 2019 he had the honour of being invited to sit in with one of his blues heroes, Buddy Guy, playing at his Legends club in Chicago.
It’s clear from the album’s opening tracks that this an artist who has spent considerable time soaking up a rich array of blues influences and he’s an impressive guitarist with some nifty blues licks. As Giuliani himself stresses, however, it’s not the only string to his bow and the Americana and golden-era singer-songwriter influences shine through, too, particularly on tracks like the sublime ‘A Thousand Miles Away From Home’.
Recorded at Forward Studios in Rome and The Switchyard Studio in Nashville, Rogue is produced by four-time Grammy award winner producer, Tom Hambridge, whose empathetic production helps give the album and impeccably authentic blues/Americana feel. Hambridge also contributes drums to the album, alongside Phil Palmer on rhythm guitar, Mick Brill on bass and Peter De Girolamo who provides some deliciously soulful keyboards.
Encompassing folk, rock, glam, prog and much more besides – probably no-one better captures the diverse range of artists I try to cover at Darren’s Music Blog than Joshua Burnell.
I reviewed his last album, Flowers Where The Horses Sleep, noting that “for all the quirky left-field musical influences, these freshly-composed songs still manage to retain a strong folk sensibility.” This time, however, Burnell has thrown away the genre rule-book entirely. Glass Knight is a stunningly impressive album and I was privileged to witness him formally launch it at this year’s Cropredy where I described it as “Hunky Dory-era Bowie meets folk rock meets prog”.
Burnell effortlessly plays around with all of these musical strands to come up with something that’s unique, original and utterly compelling. And, importantly – whatever the genre – it’s jam-packed full of damned good, instantly hummable tunes. He’s a wonderfully inventive songwriter and a talented multi-instrumentalist and, once again, demonstrates an instinctive ear for a catchy melody and a poetic turn of phrase.
A concept-album of sorts, with a central character appearing across its ten tracks, Glass Knight encompasses everything from ecological destruction and sci-fi apocalypse to a reworking of an ancient folk tale. From the epic ‘Where Planets Collide’ which introduces the album’s central character, to the delicately poignant ‘Out Of These Worlds, to the retro glammy-sounding ‘Last Rain’ to the impossibly catchy ‘Don’t Lose Your Faith’ to the Ziggy-esque swagger of ‘Lucy’ this is an album I just cannot stop playing. In Glass Knight Joshua Burnell has turned out a bona fide twenty-first century masterpiece.
Hailing from Dartford in Kent, Tizane began writing songs as a young teenager when chronic anxiety issues forced her to miss much of her schooling and spend many hours in her bedroom. By 2019 she began venturing out on to the open mic scene around the west Kent/south-east London borders where her talents as both a writer and performer were spotted by independent label, Burning Girl, who released her well-received debut album Cherry back in 2021.
The 22-year old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has now followed that up with a second album, released on the same label earlier this Summer. Coming out towards the end of June Forever Is Nothing has picked up a slew of positive reviews.
The album is engineered by Pat Collier, a founder member of London punk band, The Vibrators, who has gone on to produce for artists like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream and X-Ray Spex.
Collier says of Tizane:“I think she’s (Tizane) one of the most talented and gifted artists I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with.”
Tizane shares writing credits on the album with fellow band members: guitarist, Charlie Harris; bass player, Nathan Gordon; and drummer, Greg Titmarsh.
Of particular interest to those who come to Darren’s music blog mainly for the glam content, however, is the track ‘Every Minute’ which is co-written with former Mud guitarist, Rob Davis. As well as writing songs like ‘L-Lucy’ for Mud, he went on to have an illustrious career as an in-demand songwriter long after the Mud hits dried up, most notably co-writing the Kylie Minogue smash-hit ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’.
Deliberately taking a slightly more muscular approach than its predecessor but still providing plenty of light and shade, Forever is Nothing is a pleasing blend of riff-driven alt-rock and jangly, brooding gothic pop. This, her second album, is an impressive showcase for Tizane’s haunting, ethereal vocals and intelligent, thought-provoking songwriting.
If this type of music is your bag and if you aren’t familiar with her work already, Tizane should certainly be right up there on your ‘one-to-watch’ list.
“Vibrant, inventive and joyful” is how I summed up The Light Of The Moon, the second album from Gnoss, when it was released back in 2021. Now they are back with a follow-up, Stretching Skyward. Always vibrant and joyful, the inventiveness, too, certainly continues on this, their third album. Containing all original material, save for a cover of Gillian Welch’s ‘Hard Times’, the album fizzes with virtuoso musicianship, enticing melodies and rich sound textures. And in ‘Hamnavoe’ the second track on the album that celebrates Orkney’s Viking heritage and mythology (written, like the other original songs on the album, by vocalist Aidan Moodie), they have turned out a genuine, bona fide folk anthem.
Aidan Moodie:“Each track is centred around a story that has change at its heart. Those stories gave us pause to look at the change that’s taken place in our own lives over the past few years. We wanted to reflect this idea within the sounds we used to construct the album.”
Once more with the established line-up of Aidan Moodie, Graham Rorie, Connor Sinclair and Craig Baxter, this album again features Braebach’s James Lindsey on electric and double bass. In keeping with the theme of change though, the band embrace less traditional sounds, too, including synths, electronic samples and state-of-the-art production techniques.
A stunning album from a band demonstrating they are still very much at the top of their game and passionate about their rightful place at the cutting edge of Scottish folk.
Both highly sought-after musicians on the Scottish traditional scene, harpist, Rachel Hair, and guitarist, Ron Jappy, first came together to record as a duo back in 2019 with the album Sparks. Élan is the pair’s long-awaited follow-up comprising Hair’s original compositions alongside a number of traditional tunes and a handful by other contemporary writers.
Rachel Hair:“Élan is more closely related to who we are as musicians and people, than my previous releases. There are nods to my Highland background, with tunes from the Captain Simon Fraser collection, tunes I’ve written to do with Ullapool and Lochbroom, as well as pipe tunes. There are also sets of Irish tunes as a nod to the Glasgow-Irish music scene, and from the Isle of Man where my husband is from.”
A delightful album, the distinctive combination of acoustic guitar and harp brings a fresh perspective to traditional Celtic music and the duo’s treatment of tunes, both new and old, is invigorating and rather moreish. An album I’ll definitely want to return to.
Gavin Marwick & Wendy Stewart – Quarterdays: Whitsun
Whitsun is the second release in a series of EPs released by fiddle-player, Gavin Marwick, under the banner of the Quarterdays series of EPs being released across 2023. On this release, featuring new contemporary tunes composed by Marwick in a traditional style, he is joined by the renowned Galloway harpist, Wendy Stewart, with whom he also works in the alternative/folk string quintet, the Galloway Agreement.
Gavin Marwick & Wendy Stewart:“This second EP is a voyage of discovery into the lore and history of Whitsun. It’s a celebration of May and the beginning of the summer – the beasts are now all out in the fields, the primroses are still blooming – and in religious/spiritual terms it is mixed in with Pentecost and Beltane, holy wells and weddings. There are balmy warm days yet still the chance of bitter cold.”
While I’m late coming to this, the beautiful melodies and gentle interplay between Gavin Marwick’s fiddle and Wendy Stewart’s harp perfectly capture the atmosphere of a warm late-spring and come next May I’ll definitely be celebrating my favourite time of the year with a few spins of the Quarterdays: Whitsun EP.
An album of traditional songs and tunes from the Galloway area of south-west Scotland, singer and fiddler, Jo Miller, is joined by several musicians with close connections to the area. Miller is well-known for her work in community-based traditional music, formal education, and academic research. This recording draws on her research in the uplands of the Glenkens where she grew up, interviewing local residents and investigating historical sources.
Jo Miller:“I’m delighted to be sharing these songs and tunes which all have a personal association for me. You will also hear the spoken word, birdsong and singing for dancing – an aural landscape which not only evokes the former life of the Glenkens and its people, but also points toward its lively music culture in the present.”
Both poignant and entertaining, not to mention being a wonderful piece of living social history (with the performances on the album seeking to recreate the intimate atmosphere of performances at rural schools, individual homes and small schoolhouses where these songs were traditionally performed), A’ The Wat To Galloway is a wonderful celebration of the music and cultural life of this particular corner of Scotland.
With a blend of traditional Scottish and Irish folk, fused from a melting pot of gypsy melodies, bluegrass, Spanish, and Balkan influences (and much more besides!) Dallahan are Jack Badcock (guitar), Ciaran Ryan (banjo and mandolin), Andrew Waite (accordion and Benedict Morris (fiddle). Formed a decade ago, Speak of the Devil is the band’s fourth album.
Jack Badcock:“We believe it’s the band’s most accomplished and assured album to date. It’s been a while in the melting pot because each member of the band was incredibly busy with commitments as Covid eased off and the music world opened up again – not least Ciaran who was still working at a job he picked up during the pandemic as a fine dining chef!”
Featuring ten tracks of original material (four songs and six tunes) Speak of the Devil showcases a band that exudes confidence and creativity and is never afraid to be that bit different. The plethora of different influences and traditions that the band pull into their music, from the nifty banjo-playing to the jazz-like licks to the Spanish and Latin-American themes in the song lyrics, means that this album will appeal far beyond the confines of traditional folk, with much to enjoy here for devotees of bluegrass, world music and more.
Lucas Pasley is an old-time fiddler/banjo-player and singer-songwriter from Sparta, North Carolina in the heart of the southern Appalachian mountains. Pasley has spent most of his musical life performing traditional Appalachian music and formed the band, Gap Civil, in 2018 with a motto to “honour and innovate” traditional mountain music. In recent years, however, he has also moved into singer-songwriter territory.
Ponies Back Home is his second solo album and follows Souls Living On, released in 2020.
Still very much rooted in traditional Appalachian music, Pasley is heavily influenced by his grandmother’s songwriting, while also bringing in wider country influences together with his own sense of originality. The result is an album packed full of appealing melodies, heartfelt lyrics and authentic playing.
A number of additional guest vocalists, together with a stellar line-up of musicians complementing Pasley on vocals, guitar and fiddle, makes for a strong album. Ponies Back Home will certainly appeal to those with a love for the Appalachian traditions but there’s plenty here to tempt anyone who enjoys some fine Country/Americana-flavoured singer-songwriting.
Awakening is the third album from Glasgow-based folk aces, Ímar – their first in five years. Featuring Mohsen Amini (concertina), Tomas Callister (fiddle), Adam Rhodes (bouzouki), Ryan Murphy (pipes, flute and whistle) and Adam Brown (bodhran, guitar), the album (featuring cover art of the 9th century king from which the band takes its name) offers up ten tracks of mainly original tunes.
Mohsen Amini:“The idea behind this album was to take it back to where we came in with all the vibes of our debut album, Afterlight. As the band progressed, the music became more produced. We loved it but we never had more enjoyment that those original days at the inception of Ímar.”
Fresh, exhilarating and inventive, Awakening sees Ímar take us on a breathtaking ride through a stunning new collection of tunes that both showcase their virtuosity while giving every impression of a band having a huge load of fun during the making of it.
Westward The Light are Charlie Grey, Sally Simpson, Owen Sinclair and Joseph Peach. Formed in 2018, the band have won acclaim on the folk scene for their innovative arrangements of Scottish traditional tunes on fiddle, viola, piano and guitar. Flow Country, named after the region of rolling peatland between Caithness and Sutherland, is their second album.
Joseph Peach:“Flow Country is a record on which the tune takes precedence. There are no gimmicks, there’s jus straight up traditional music which we feel really captures the essence of our Scottish culture and heritage.”
A lovely collection of tunes that instantly transport the listener to the rugged landscapes and long-cherished musical heritage of the north of Scotland and which showcase some stunning interactions between these highly-skilled instrumentalists, Flow Country leaves its mark from the very first listen.
Still only in his mid-20s, melodeon-player and composer, James Kerry, has been a noted presence on the UK folk scene, playing at festivals such as Warwick Folk Festival and Broadstairs Folk Week and establishing a reputation for passionate, rhythmic playing rooted in the folk dance tradition. Source is Kerry’s first solo project and features mainly traditional English tunes with a handful of original compositions and a couple of contemporary pieces by other writers thrown in as well.
“Source is a true representation of James’ style and passions and reflects his huge respect for traditional music and his desire to pass it on,” we are told in the album sleeve-notes.
A fine showcase for James Kerry’s skilful playing, supporters of traditional English dance tunes will simply love this album – which also boasts a stunning line-up supporting musicians in Tom Kitching, James Delarre and Danny Tonks.
Neil Pearlman is best known for his ground-breaking approach to the piano in Celtic music. In that capacity he tours regularly with Kevin Henderson, Katie McNally, The Pine Tree Flyers, and as a solo pianist, while playing more irregularly with a wide variety of side projects featuring top Celtic, Americana and Jazz musicians. His latest project, Refractions, is a collection of traditional Scottish and Gaelic tunes, arranged especially for solo performance on the piano.
Neil Pearlman: “The choice to focus on traditional Scottish melodies is my way of paying respect to my roots. Traditional Scottish tunes are some of the very first music I ever heard or played, so going into that repertoire and having a conversation with it as the artist I am today was a powerful experience, and a good way to explore both who I am now and where I come from.”
Some of the tunes on Refractions are familiar, others less so, but what Pearlman does throughout the whole album is find the inherent beauty in each individual tune and present them in an entirely new light. It makes for a poignant and highly intimate album with some exceptional playing.
And finally, while there’s been a heavy focus on instrumental albums in this latest round-up, the ever industrious Irish-born, Dorset-based singer songwriter Owen Moore also has a new album out, another compilation – this one with an Irish theme.
Owen Moore:“My new album is called Songs From The Shamrock Bar and is an anthology of recordings that have all appeared on previous Owen Moore albums and singles over the past ten years or so. All of the songs have a link of some sort with Ireland, which is where I was born (70 plus years ago) and many of them take a nostalgic look at days gone by.”
Always entertaining, with a penchant for engaging storytelling, catchy melodies and gentle guitar picking, Owen Moore’s own brand of Americana-infused singer-songwriting with that special touch of Celtic magic is very much on display here.
When I first started Darren’s music blog back in 2014, The Young ‘uns were among the first set of artists I wrote about, when I reviewed a performance of theirs at Cecil Sharp House. Since then, I’ve seen them at a whole range of venues, from big festivals, to medium-sized theatres to small folk clubs and I’ve followed their career with interest. They had already been going a decade by the time I first saw them and this year the not-quite-so-young ‘uns celebrate twenty years together. Tiny Notes is their latest album.
“Taking its name from messages tied to the Wearmouth Bridge in Sunderland by Paige Hunter, Tiny Notes is a collection of songs that find hope and humanity in grief and despair,” the group write in the album’s sleeve notes.
Poignancy abounds, with powerful songwriting from Sean Cooney, trademark harmony vocals from the trio of Cooney, Michael Hughes and David Eagle and evocative musical accompaniment in the form of piano from Eagle and a string quartet who guest on the album with arrangements by Jon Boden.
Writing songs about real, everyday heroes has become Cooney’s “personal passion”. Tackling subjects such as the London Bridge terror attacks, the Lockerbie bombing and one young woman’s heartfelt and very personal contribution to suicide prevention (the title track) the album very much showcases the trio’s more sensitive side – and Cooney is clearly in his stride writing songs of this nature.
What it does mean is that there’s no space on the album for the rousing covers and traditional songs that were often a feature of the trio’s earlier albums but perhaps that can safely be left to others these days? The Young ‘uns have certainly carved out an impressive niche for themselves and have proved to be a valuable and highly unique asset to the UK folk scene these past twenty years. Here’s to the next twenty.
A fixture on the adjacent “festival fringe” of Fairport Convention’s annual Cropredy extravaganza each year, Wigan-based folk-rockers, Merry Hell, have finally made it to the main stage and will appear there this August. With impeccable timing (and something that will sell like hot cakes at this and other festivals this summer, I’m sure) the band have released their first ever ‘best of’ compilation.
Emerging back in 2010 from the ashes of 90s folk-punk outfit, The Tansads, the band weren’t quite sure how things would take off but six albums later Merry Hell have more than proved themselves and there’s no shortage of strong material for a proper career retrospective.
Never afraid of wearing their hearts on their sleeves and standing up for what they believe in, Merry Hell have developed a strong niche as purveyors of rousing folk-rock anthems with socially-conscious lyrics, all delivered with characteristic good humour, energy, verve and passion.
In compiling the album the band had some assistance from fans, alongside each individual band member also choosing their own particular favourite. The result is a whopping 28 tracks over two discs and, for me, there’s plenty of personal favourites among the final selection: from the ecologically-themed paean to decluttering, ‘Bury Me Naked’; to the band’s self-proclaimed “alternative national anthem” ‘Come On England!’; to the rousing ‘Leave It In The Ground’ from the climate-themed Emergency Lullabies album.
With over half of the members of the eight-piece band also being songwriters, Merry Hell explore a variety of styles and influences in their output and so it’s not all rousing, amped-up sing-alongs, albeit that is very much their forte. The compilation has its mellower, tender moments, too, such as the beautifully-poignant acoustic number, ‘No Place Like Tomorrow’.
Whether you’re a long-term follower of Merry Hell or just discovering them for the first time at a festival this summer, Let The Music Speak For Itself is a strong compilation which is sure to find favour with fans both new and old. Role on Cropredy!
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