Month: December 2017

A turbulent and sometimes tragic childhood was the prelude to 14-year-old Ange Hardy running away from a children’s home in Somerset and finding herself homeless on the streets of Ireland. Handed a guitar as a chance to move from begging to busking for a living, music became a counsellor for Ange. Bring Back Home is the sixth studio album from the BBC Radio 2 Folk award nominated singer-songwriter and, by her own admission, many of these songs are set within the same fictional landscape that permeates much of her output. So it is that we have an opening track, Sisters Three, with the jauntily upbeat accompaniment disguising the mystical undertones of the song which is, at its heart, a folk story about the origin of good and evil in the heart of mankind. Continue reading “Ange Hardy “Bring Back Home” (Story Records, 2017)”

First Light is an album of elegant music which serves as a frame for Dan Michaelson’s distinctive cracked and battered vocals – like a canvas sail hauled out for another use in the face of an oncoming storm. A concept album of sorts, based on the thoughts that fill the mind as consciousness returns as somnolence is reluctantly thrown off, and on the evidence presented here Dan Michaelson’s dreams are often troubled with uneasy sleep. Continue reading “Dan Michaelson “First Light” (The state51 Conspiracy, 2017)”

Luke Daniels looks a little like a refugee freed from a Mumford and Sons labour camp. His new album makes use of children’s rhymes for grownups everywhere. That’s enough to set of very loud alarm bells hereabouts. Fear not, the record’s okay (if a little unremarkable) and the beard/braces look is close to being a legal requirement for the self-respecting folkie of today. Daniels is a member of Cara Dillion’s band, also of Riverdance Orchestra. He’s certainly no chancer in the folk music scene. Accordingly this is a solid collection of songs and the children’s rhymes are largely understated; worked into the songs rather than standing out like the proverbial sore thumbs. Continue reading “Luke Daniels “Singing Ways To Feel More Junior” (Gael Music, 2017)”

On first hearing the dulcet tones of Canadian singer-songwriter Joshua Hyslop it would be easy, and not a little bit lazy, to file him away as radio friendly, middle of the road and unremarkable. His voice could have been made to fit snugly and comfortably within the mainstream Radio 2 playlist. However, get past the first two tracks and with track number three Home Hyslop raises the bar and starts to demand attention. Unremarkable becomes distinctive and soulful. The musical accompaniment becomes a subtle complement to the songs, as highlighted by the brief but effective harmonica on Long Way Down and Lighter Than a Stone. The album settles into a lovely, laid back rhythm, mostly acoustically driven and understated in a way that allows Hyslop’s vocals to really get under the skin. Continue reading “Joshua Hyslop “Echos” (Nettwerk Music, 2018)”