Go Folk

claire rousay’s “on holding” pairs dusty piano with field recordings and fleeting sparks of electronic background noise. The mood is free and quietly exploratory. She uses dissonance to interpret daily life in the abstract. We know from past work that every note she commits to tape serves a purpose; here, that feels, at times, self-reflexive, giving us a valuable glimpse into a highly original process that is always sonically rewarding.  Source

Radie Peat’s debut solo album, “No Human Tongue Can Tell”, is due on Rough Trade Records on 13 November. Her new single is “Hares on the Mountain”, a traditional folk song she learned from Shirley Collins. As the protagonist in this song, she anthropomorphically ponders the unjust gender dynamics of courtship. Source

Richard Thompson’s “Hippies, Thugs and Heroes” pushes the envelope much further in studio craft and arrangements than its predecessor. There are startling musical diversions and excursions throughout, with the full band bringing extra textures. Six decades in, this cornerstone of British folk-rock still has the capacity to evolve, and this album stands tall among his recent releases. Source

Powtes’ “Destroying A Living” is a sonic monument to the common folk dispossessed when the Fens were drained. A six-piece band helmed by Gus Beamish, they bring the ecstasy of group improvisation to the austerity of the drone. It sounds as if they’re all performing live in the same room, responding to the warp and weft of their collective humanity. Source

Gwenifer Raymond shares her new single “Bird Songs for Atomic Skies”, marking her signing to Fat Possum. Raymond calls it a mutant rag, a blues gone awry, with lyrebirds in irradiated nests and foxes whose barks are all wrong. The folk horror reaches post-apocalyptic levels. She supports Geese across America and Canada, then headlines in the UK. Source

Arborist’s “Looking For Love” explores love and its absence, using Belfast as a microcosm for the wider world. It is Mark McCambridge’s first self-produced record, made in his home studio with help from old friends. The record features some beautiful poetry, and McCambridge sets an extraordinarily high bar for composition, songwriting, and arrangement. Source