Album Review | No Masters | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 4/5 Recorded shortly before the lock down, Belinda and Heidi’s Live at St George’s sees the popular duo on stage for the last time for a while, delivering just over a dozen of their idiosyncratic songs, which includes a selection of their most … Continue reading O’Hooley and Tidow – Live at St George’s
Martin Simpson – Home Recordings
Album Review | Topic | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 5/5 There’s evidently an unexpected plus side to the lock down after all, the fact that Martin Simpson’s planned live album had to be cancelled and is instead replaced with a bunch of home recordings, which sound as intimate as you’re likely to get. … Continue reading Martin Simpson – Home Recordings
David Grubb – Nano
Album Review | Self Release | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 4/5 Originally intended as an EP, Nano developed into a full length album of original instrumental compositions, with some reference to David Grubb’s traditional roots. Still made up of just five pieces plus a short introduction, Nano encompasses all the thought processes, feelings … Continue reading David Grubb – Nano
Chris Fox – From the Shadows
Album Review | Self Release | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 3/5 If Cambridge is home to this award winning singer songwriter, then his songs owe more to a much broader landscape, from the Cambridgeshire Fens to Nashville’s Music Row and Austin’s Sixth Avenue. Chris Fox’s mixture of Americana, Country and Blues is infused … Continue reading Chris Fox – From the Shadows
Willie Campbell – Nothing’s Going to Bring Me Down
Album Review | Invisible King | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 3/5 The title of Willie Campbell’s latest album could be seen as an optimistic statement for our times. The Isle of Lewis-based singer songwriter treats the current crisis as a challenge and doesn’t let the lockdown scupper his artistic vision. For the title … Continue reading Willie Campbell – Nothing’s Going to Bring Me Down
Adam Sweet – Sink or Swim
Album Review | Self Release | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 3/5 Confident strokes are taken for Adam Sweet’s second full length album release, in which the young Exeter-based blues guitarist delivers a dozen strong self-penned tracks, written for the most part in collaboration with songwriter Steve Black. Equally at home with early evening … Continue reading Adam Sweet – Sink or Swim
Viral Verses – Art in Exceptional Times
Book Review | Borthwick Press | Review by Allan Wilkinson With a dedication to the late Edward Tudor ‘Ted’ Crum, a victim of COVID 19 and a friend to some of the contributors to this collection of poems and illustrations, Viral Verses is a gathering of empathetic writers and illustrators, each with a shared vision … Continue reading Viral Verses – Art in Exceptional Times
Dyble Longdon – Between a Breath and a Breathe
Album Review | English Electric Recordings | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 4/5 It’s always particularly sad when a record drops through the letterbox from a singer or musician who has recently left us and is unable to see the fruits of their labour, simply because their time ran out far too early. … Continue reading Dyble Longdon – Between a Breath and a Breathe
Lunatraktors – Bonefires
EP Review | TPR Recordings | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 4/5 Margate-based Clair Le Couteur and Carli Jefferson, otherwise known as Lunatraktors, follow their acclaimed debut album This is Broken Folk, with a four-track EP, released on the anniversary of the burning of the Houses of Parliament in 1834, with three traditional adaptations … Continue reading Lunatraktors – Bonefires
The Teacups – In Which
Album Review | Haystack Records | Review by Allan Wilkinson | Stars: 5/5 Celebrating ten years together as a fine a cappella quartet, The Teacups present their third and sadly their final album, as Alex Cumming, Kate Locksley, Will Finn and Rosie Calvert call it a day. Having met at Newcastle University, where the four … Continue reading The Teacups – In Which
