Album Review / Napier, Frame & Vass: The Ledger

"Every week in the late ’50s and early ’60s The Scotsman published a traditional Scottish folk song with lyrics and melody alongside an explanatory article by folklorist Norman Buchan. My Grandfather, Findlay Cumming, cut them out of the newspaper and pasted them into a ledger..." Those are Findlay Napier's words on Bandcamp, telling how he, … Continue reading Album Review / Napier, Frame & Vass: The Ledger

Quick Take Album Review / Jim Moray: The Outlander

The brilliant Jim Moray has injected fresh blood and ideas into English folk for over a decade now, but his new album The Outlander is a deliberate excursion to a batch of Ye Olde Songs - even the ancient John Barleycorn makes an appearance - with acoustic arrangements that are mostly fairly old school but … Continue reading Quick Take Album Review / Jim Moray: The Outlander

Album Review / Claire Hastings: Those Who Roam

Let's be honest about it: traditional songs from the Celtic and Nordic area tend to be... well, not all that complicated, musically. At least we who live in these areas and are familiar with their musical grammar can learn to hum or sing these tunes pretty quickly. So when artists take on this tradition and … Continue reading Album Review / Claire Hastings: Those Who Roam