Mikko Joensuu - Amen 1 (Album Review)

June 09, 2016 by David Vousden in Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

“Sometimes it feels like darkness has taken over. I know sometimes it feels that hope’s just not there” are the opening two lines of ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’ from ‘Amen 1’ the debut solo album from Mikko Joensuu. Needless to say when you match the lyrics to plaintive pedal steel, gently picked acoustic guitar and the swell of strings it’s obvious that Mikko Joensuu is dealing with some seriously weighty issues. The fact that the track has an incredibly stark, raw beauty to compliment the melancholy marks ‘Amen 1’ as the beginning of something a little bit special.

Andy Shauf - The Party (Album Review).

May 16, 2016 by Rich Barnard in Alternative Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Folk, Album Reviews

With 2015’s self-recorded and highly acclaimed The Bearer of Bad News, Andy Shauf put himself firmly on the musical map, playing all the instruments and recording the album single-handedly. Barely more than a year later, here he is with The Party, his debut release for ANTI- and it’s a very impressive thing. As I write, Shauf is quite deservedly being exposed to a wider audience, supporting The Lumineers on their current European tour.

Afro Celt Sound System - The Source (Album Review)

May 12, 2016 by David Vousden in Folk, World Music

The original mission statement for Red Guitar Music was a simple one; write about music we liked in the hope that our readers would feel the same about the acts we covered. We had no idea of the range of music that would turn up in the RGM inbox or even, on occasion, on good old fashioned physical CD. It really has been a revelation and our musical horizons have extended far beyond the boundaries we set at the very beginning. This eclectic approach seems to have gone down well and we hope regular readers will continue to discover new music which brings us to Afro Celt Sound System.

Fraser Anderson - Under The Cover Of Lightness (Album Review)

April 29, 2016 by David Vousden in Singer-Songwriter, Folk

In late 2014 Red Guitar Music was pleased to review a very fine album by Scottish singer-songwriter Fraser Anderson. The album ‘Little Glass Box’ was originally self-released in 2012 and sold at gigs but a deal with the Membran label allowed the album to reach a much wider audience. This was a very welcome development as ‘Little Glass Box’ is a gem and the soulful, folk sound of the album was compared in the press to Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell and John Martyn, esteemed company indeed. Two years on and Fraser has relocated to Bristol, England after a decade living in France and has also returned, musically, with ‘Under The Cover Of Lightness’.

Gretchen Peters - The Essential (Album Review)

January 29, 2016 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

We enter 2016 and find Gretchen Peters embarking on a UK tour only a few months after her last visit to the UK where she performed a string of sold out shows. In 2015 the ‘Blackbirds’ album had given Peters her highest chart placing ever in the UK where she has been embraced as both a singer and a songwriter, which has not always been the case for artists in Nashville (Chris Stapleton may have recently changed that way of thinking). To coincide with the tour UK label Proper Records has put together a stunning two disc career retrospective set that will please fans old and new.

Oktoba - Smoke Signals (Album Review)

November 15, 2015 by Rich Barnard in Americana, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Oktoba is the brainchild of Brighton-based singer-songwriter Chris Athorne. His debut EP Tales and Shadows was positively received last year, so Athorne has wasted no time in assembling a good cast of supporting musicians for an album proper, enlisting the manifold talents of Tim Bidwell as producer and engineer. Bidwell, best known for his work with fellow Brightonian Kate Walsh, clearly lavishes wagonfuls of care and attention on his subjects and, as a result, this release sounds fantastic. There’s oodles of space and texture in the arrangements and it’s impeccably recorded and mixed, as you might expect. All this really helps Oktoba stand out among the vast crowd of confessional male songsters vying for our attention.

Glen Hansard - Didn't He Ramble (Album Review)

October 20, 2015 by Rich Barnard in Americana, Singer-Songwriter, Folk

The Frames’ redheaded frontman has come a long way since the world first glimpsed him as a scrawny, fresh-faced guitarist named Outspan in The Commitments film back in 1991. In the same year, Hansard’s real-life group released their Island Records debut and The Frames still remain one of Ireland’s best-loved bands, nearly twenty five years on. He returned to the big screen in 2006, via the nicely understated film Once, which was pretty much built around his music and that of Czech singer songwriter Markéta Irglová. The runaway success of Once, now immortalised (for better or worse) by its conversion to a West End musical, marked the start of Hansard’s transition from cult star to national treasure.

The Unthanks - Mount The Air (Album Review)

January 19, 2015 by Rich Barnard in Folk

The darlings of folk return with their first album in four years, Mount The Air. The fact that it is independently released, and is something of a serious, one-paced record, suggests that The Unthanks don’t want to play by anyone’s rules but their own. Their popularity means that they are still courted by major labels but nonetheless they are choosing this time to go it alone. So, they are making this music on their own terms and thus are fully able to indulge themselves with sprawling, slow-building epics; long passages of jazzy meandering and neat instrumental vignettes. It’s at this point I should also warn off anyone with an allergy to trumpets. There is a whole flood of trumpetry happening here, courtesy of the great Tom Arthurs.

Run Boy Run - Something To Someone (Album Review)

December 09, 2014 by David Vousden in Folk, Country, Americana, Album Reviews

Run Boy Run features brother and sister Matt Rolland (fiddle, guitar) and Grace Rolland (cello, vocals), sisters Bekah Sandoval Rolland (fiddle, vocals) and Jen Sandoval (mandolin, vocals) with bass player Jesse Allen completing the quintet. ‘Something To Someone’ is their second album and was recorded at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, WA with producers Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers) and Jerry Streeter (Brandi Carlile). The band may call Tucson, Arizona home but their acoustic blend of Bluegrass, Folk and Americana seems firmly rooted some 2000 miles across country in the sounds of the Appalachian South and is a treat for fans of traditional American music.

Fraser Anderson - Little Glass Box (Album Review)

November 30, 2014 by David Vousden in Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

Scottish singer-songwriter Fraser Anderson learnt his trade as a touring vocalist with Dougie MacLean OBE the Scottish institution best known for his song ‘Caledonia’. Anderson would go on to a solo career that commenced with a debut album ‘and the girl with the strawberry…’ released as far back as 2004 with the follow up ‘Coming Up For Air’ praised by Bob Harris no less in 2007. This decade of musical exploration has seen Anderson share the stage with such diverse talents as Joan Armatrading and rock legend Chuck Berry. Despite these achievements Anderson surprisingly still falls into the best kept secret category. It is even more surprising when you hear ‘Little Glass Box’.

Michelle Lewis - The Parts Of Us That Still Remain (Album Review)

November 24, 2014 by David Vousden in Folk, Pop, Country, Singer-Songwriter, Album Reviews

If may have taken a decade for Michelle Lewis to release her second full length album but some things are worth waiting for and ‘The Parts Of Us That Still Remain’ which was self-released earlier this year in the USA will finally see the light of day in Europe on December 1st, 2014. The album was recorded in North Chelmsford, MA and at the Paramount Recording Studios in Los Angeles owned by her long-time collaborator Anthony J. Resta who co-produced the album with Lewis.

Police Dog Hogan - Westward Ho! (Album Review)

October 17, 2014 by David Vousden in Album Reviews, Americana, Folk

Up until the launch of Red Guitar Music I was unaware of Police Dog Hogan (shame on me) but over the last few weeks the band, and their excellent ‘From the Land of Miracles’ album, have become required listening. The recent album launch show for their latest release ‘Westward Ho!’ at The Borderline in London was a terrific night out with good playing and good humour to the fore adding to my appreciation for the band.

Luke Daniels - What's Here What's Gone (Album Review)

September 30, 2014 by David Vousden in Folk, Blues, Album Reviews, Singer-Songwriter

It really is quite hard to believe that ‘What’s Here What’s Gone’ sees the emergence of Luke Daniels the singer-songwriter. Daniels has, for two decades, been an in demand folk multi-instrumentalist. His work, primarily on the Melodeon, has graced releases by Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and on the scores to the recent ‘Hobbit’ films from composer Howard Shore. He is currently dividing his time between solo shows and as a member of the Cara Dillon band.