Opening with a splendidly crisp “Dr Gilberts” which I haven’t heard since the days of Five Hand Reel, the quartet of Andy Dinan (fiddle), Ian Fletcher (guitars and programming), Jon Thorne (double bass) and Richard Sliwa on percussion certainly know how to swing. Having caught my attention from the outset perhaps it’s just me but the one thing I’m not too sure about is the ‘jazz’ bridge which segues from the second tune to the third. There’s no doubt what a superb musician Fletcher is (as are the others) it’s just that for me at least it’s a step too far and a distraction from what is an otherwise brilliant set-piece. Continue reading
DUCIE – Mancunia
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Critically acclaimed songwriter Thea Gilmore has now released her new studio album Regardless, to celebrate its release folking is giving you a chance to take a listen to the single ‘Love Came Looking For Me’.
We’re very excited at folking as we have just got our hands on the new Merry Hell ”Head Full Of Magic, Shoes Full Of Rain” album which is due for general release on the 20 May 2013 through Mrs Casey Records.
The Comeback Album is the third offering from these Nashville musicians/band leader/producer/journalist/songwriters! The comeback just refers to a revisiting the studios to make an album after a couple of years touring in the US and Europe, and working on exciting projects like recording the children’s songs of Tom T. Hall with an interstellar cast of musicians! Maybe it’s a bit wild to call Eric and Peter country music’s answer to Simon and Garfunkel but their voices and talents have a distinctive chemistry that combine so well and this The Comeback Album is another testament to that. 
Brighton folk-rockers Levellers released a five track anti-war EP in May featuring a new recording, with special guests, of ‘The Recruiting Sergeant’. The original version, which is an anti-war song, features on their 10th studio album ‘Static on the Airwaves’ which was released to critical acclaim in 2012.
Walk Along John is John Reischman’s first solo instrumental album in thirteen years, and it’s a triumphant return to form. It’s also a celebration of his seminal influence in the world of bluegrass and “new acoustic music,” a movement he contributed to with Tony Rice in the 1980s. A new generation of musicians has now grown up playing his tunes at jams and obsessing over his recordings. Chris Thile of The Punch Brothers joins John on the opening tune “Itzbin Reel,” an early composition of John’s that Chris has been playing since the age of 8. Eli West, from Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, listened endlessly to John’s recordings while studying in college and guests on the album as well. Other next generation star players on the album include 
Well, what do you know an album of which I can’t understand a word lyrically…or, more importantly need to. OK, so if this was being reviewed by say the BBC’s Culture Show the presenters would turn the album into some superior art form but from a layman’s point of view who knows nothing of the Norwegian language (although I must concede to having spent a month performing at The Scotsman Pub, Oslo…and survived…just!) I must confess to having been totally seduced by this awesome duo. On her previous album ‘November’ Annlaug (hardanger fiddle, guitar & vocal) mesmerised the listener with her