The Driving Test
A Musical Car Ride
Whilst we would love to give every album/EP/single a full indepth review,we are only human and don't have a time turner so we aren't able to give every release the time and attention it deserves.
In the past that would have ment that we either reviewed a release or we didn't, but now we have a third option, a middle way.
The solution here has been a simple one. Rather than review individual artists' CD's at length, we play them one after the other on a long car journey. The simple listening test is: "are they bearable in the car - interesting, enjoyable, not distracting". This may not be how the artists want us to hear their work, but it's how a lot gets listened to for the first time and at least raises awarenes! The rating system is simple and provides a shorthan for reference.:
Ringlefinch - Tall Tales ****
www.ringlefinch.co.uk
Tall Tales is an incredibly fun full-length debut from the acoustic seven-piece London band Ringlefinch. Theirs is an alternative folk sound with an enormous amount at play, covering elements of traditional folk, indie rock, jazz, classical, and old time. This results in something that feels unique and is guaranteed to put a big stupid grin on your face. From Edward Gorey's Gory Stories, a love song woven around the work of the prolific Chicago writer, to the 16-minute epic Coldwell Clough covering the landscape around the Kinder Scout mass trespass in 1932, this album will have captured from first note to last. Tall Tales is as assured a debut as you're likely to find. AJ
Sarah Walk - Simply (EP) ***
www.sarahwalkmusiciles.com
Featuring three alternative takes on existing songs, two new tracks, and one cover, Simply is a great place to start if you are not familiar with Sarah Walk. It's also a fantastic introduction to her gorgeous vocals, and that's especially true of the title track. Simply is a simple but beautiful piano ballad which builds wonderfully. The other new song, Secrets, has a little more of a pop feel to it, but despite being a little different to what we've heard before, it's still unmistakably Sarah Walk. The three alternative tracks are different enough to warrant checking out the EP even if you have both her albums, and Nothing Compares 2 U is one of those rare covers that feels like a whole new song. AJ
Calming River - Dead Bluebottle Supine ***
www.calmingrivermusic.com
Calming River is the underground alt-folk project of the musician Joshua Malcolm, who divides his time between London and Denmark these days. The name was always intended to be oxymoronic, with the listener left in a state of anxiety worlds away from what the name suggests. There's certainly darkness woven throughout the album, as you may expect given an album title that hardly tends towards the joyful. The main takeaway however is the wonderful intricate guitar playing which is utterly entrancing throughout. Dead Bluebottles Supine is full of rich and inventive soundscapes which makes this a fascinating debut, and Calming River one to watch. AJ
Kathryn Locke with Chodompa Music - LA ****
www.kathrynlocke.co.uk
"LA" is one of those albums that you're not really sure what's going to come out, even as the silver platter is sucked slowly into the player. I was aware of experimentalist cellist Kathryn Locke from her days working with Jude Abbot, but Chodompa Music, a phrase she uses to describe both band and music was new to me. Seeing musical that it consists of Sarah Allen, Jo Freya, Jo May and Geoff Coombs, really opens up a world of possibility and boy are they explored. There are times when you could be listening to C Cat Trance and desert fusion others are more jazzy, yet retaining a link to the tradition, it's a bit avant-garde, it's a lot fun and highly rewarding. NK
Michael McMillan - Whisky ***
www.michaelmcmillanmusic.com
Whisky has always been used as a strong metaphor for the songwriter, it reaches the poor man in the saloon ordering by the finger, the rich man in the mansion ordering the rare single malt and all points in between. Whisky drinkers rarely come out of songs well, the warm liquid in the glass a seductive counter to the cold bitterness of regret. Michael McMillan's latest cut, "Whisky", follows that pattern. There is a warmth to McMillan's voice that acts as the counterpoint to regrets and bitterness that lays in wait in the carefully constructed and beautifully delivered songs, it's just that the album as a whole draws you into the maudlin mood and perhaps another glass. There isn't a bad song here, just that all together it's a bit too much, one to dip into rather than end to end. NK
Sean Chambers - That's What I'm Talkin About ****
www.seanchambers.com
That this album is subtitled "Tribute To Hubert Sumlin", should give you an idea that this album is going to be rich in licks, riffs and electric Chicago blues and you ain't going to be wrong. This is one generation of blues guitarist, Chambers, paying dues to a man that had brought him into the band and become a mentor and influence. The album sleeve notes also pay tribute to blues producer Ben Elliott who did the duties behind the desk on this cut, sadly becoming the last album the last album he worked on before succumbing to Covid. Chambers does both men justice this is a damned fine album that feels at home on any highway. The axe work is fantastic and standard setting.
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Pirate is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.
Folk Friday Radio
Check out our shows and many other great shows on: