Withered Hand – How To Love: Album Review
With scimitar sharp honesty perfusing this deeply affecting record, Withered Hand shows his true self off to the listener; despair and celebration but a pindrop from each other.
"Well, what sort of music do you like, Seuras?" Ever since that question was first aired by his mother a decade or six back he has struggled with the answer. And struggles still now. Call him a folkie, a country dude, a bluesman and he'll be happy, but don't forget the whiff of jazz, electronica and more. Not so keen on the charts, mind.
With scimitar sharp honesty perfusing this deeply affecting record, Withered Hand shows his true self off to the listener; despair and celebration but a pindrop from each other.
Say yes to yee-haw as erstwhile honorary Mekon, Robbie Fulks, goes full on back porch.
Fine fiddle fare from Iain Fraser, following a Caledonian vein from Ullapool to Waipu, by way of Cape Breton and Australia; a chamber-folk celebration.
Brace yourself, the pan-Gaelic instrumental supergroup Imar are back, rampant and ready to bite your ankles.
Drones dance hypnotically in an intriguing trance-like state, where small pipes and the tradition are but a diving board to new ground.
Sound is but part of this complex and well constructed debut solo release from Lucy Farrell.
Album number two from accomplished jangle meisters continues to polish their retro hues in a shining new light.
Sublime structured spontaneity continues to be the calling card of power trio, Cutting, Harbron and Sweeney.
Morsels we mislaid earlier…..from Snaarmaarwaar, Walter Parks and The Lowland.
Revisioned, refashioned, revitalised, this is the work of a woman revived. Thank you, Josienne.
Ulster renaissance man, Colin Harper unleashes his bourgeois fury and a whole lot more.
The brothers Lury offer a Boss-like grip on their gritty America, that should steer the Blue Highways to the Promised Land.
Welsh duo Tapestri offer an enticingly different take on country, with a lovingly crafted offering. Cymrucana, no less.
Potent and untampered with ensemble trad from Scotland, as modern as it is old, old as it is modern.
Future dub from ancient Scotland is what it says on the tin, and it is duly delivered. Tom Spirals and Euan McLaughlin take the journey a little further.