Beyond The 45
Singles, EPs, Downloads
The Fatea office also serves as a home for our weekly Along The Tracks show on Folk Friday Radio and as a rule singles and Eps have generally gone in that direction whilst Fatea generally concentrates on albums and live reviews for our full length feature, but with more artists going back down the single route to keep themselves in the public eye, we thought it was time to reflect that in our offerings and as rules are made to be broken or at the very least adapted, welcome to the Singles Round Up.
Tony Trischka - Gentle On My Mind
www.tonytrischka.com
This is a stunning, banjo based, cover of the John Hartford track Gentle On My Mind which was made famous by Glen Campbell. It brings me complete joy to find myself reviewing this rendition. Tony is a world acclaimed five-string banjo player and if you haven't heard him play then you're in for a real treat. In addition to Tony and his banjo, Billy Strings brings the vocals and guitar, Michael Cleveland - fiddle, Sam Bush - mandolin and Mark Schatz - bass. Definitely one for your Bluegrass playlist, I'm adding it as soon as I complete this review. MF
Sunjay - Take Out Some Insurance
www.sunjay.tv
Gorgeously bluesy, warm recording, nothin' not to love about this. Sunjay brings us a captivating interpretation with this cover of the classic Jimmy Reed track. A little more upbeat than the original and, it's safe to safe, I do believe you will be dancin round the kitchen in yer slippers the moment this pops up on your recently compiled blues playlist. Not added 'Take Out Some Insurance' yet? Well no time like the present. MF
Lori King - Tennessee Breeze
www.facebook.com/lorikingmusic
Wow! Absolutely wonderful Bluegrass track by Lori featuring harmonies from Greg Blake and Gena Britt and what close harmonies they are! Okay, okay they had me at Bluegrass as it's a genre of music I love, but that being said this song certainly had me tapping both feet and wishing I was part of the band. Lori King, doing what she does best, bringing us a little piece of sunshine in a world that needs all the sunshine it can get right now. MF
Joe O'Donnell's Shkayla - 'Pachpi Kozh / Oró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile
joeodonnellsshayla.com
Pachpi Kozh is a traditional Breton instrumental. 'Oró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile' is a setting of a song in Irish Gaelic. The former is played as an almost folktronica piece with electric guitar over traditional instruments. It then descends into the Acapella opening of Oró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile, an atmospheric setting of the song which was also sung to great effect by Sinead O'Conner. Try Shkayla's Celtic Cargo album from 2008 as well for more of the same. TM
Forty Elephant Gang - Fever Dreams
www.facebook.com/fortyelephantgang
We've reviewed Forty Elephant Gang here before. Their innovative indie folk is always worth hearing, and Fever Dream is no exception. Laurel Canyon harmonies over pedal steel guitar. The words feel like one of those half-heard conversations while you're drifting in and out of sleep. Fragments of ideas and words floating past on a cloud of gently picked tunes. TM
Annie Dressner - Dumb Boy
anniedressner.com
Why Annie Dressner isn't selling out stadiums is a big question. The spiky guitar and organ fills highlight the key line, "you're just a dumb boy in a band. I like the way that you lean when you stand" which she delivers with the kind of throwaway irony that Taylor Swift wishes she had. Produced by Peter Bruntnell, which is great as they are very compatible artists, punchy songs and slightly cynical words. If the rest of the album is this good, then the album of the year title just got a contender. TM
Rosina Buck - Telescope Love
www.rosinabuck.com
A singer-songwriter and poet with a one-of-a-kind voice. This poem set to music, is she says, "about reaching across distance - of time, feeling, and experience - and letting someone know they're seen. That's my hope for anyone who hears it." The guitars, percussion and fiddle which make up the tune support the words, which are where the heart of this song lies. There's a lullaby quality to Telescope Love that wraps around you, beautiful. TM
Norah Bass - No Bridges Burned
www.facebook.com/NorahBassMusic
Sixteen-year-old Florida singer Norah Bass sits at the gritty end of Country, Punchy guitars and a story telling style which reflects the best of traditional country music. The song has the swagger of singers like Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire. The piano fills in the middle of the song ass a country soil touch. This is what most Contemporary Country music is lacking and you hope she doesn't get sucked into the Nashville machine and smoothed out. TM
Martin Carr - Connie Converse Is Playing At My House
newshapes.co.uk
This instrumental track was written after a dream Carr had about Connie Converse singing songs in his kitchen. Keyboards and drum machine produce an interpretation of his feelings about the Singer Songwriter Connie Converse who disappeared in 1974. It includes a sample from Converses piece Connie Checks the Mic. An interesting way to discover a lost but fascinating musical figure. TM
Odette Michell - St Helens
www.odettemichell.com
If you have seen the winner of the Fatea Award for the best female artist 2025 perform live then there is every chance that you may have heard Odette Michell play her song "St Helens". It appears on her album "Queen Of The Lowlands", but this, her latest single, is a re-recording and not taken from the album. The album version featured Lukas Drinkwater on double bass, whereas this new recording features award winning Michael McGoldrick, on, what I believe is, an Irish flute. For those who haven't heard "St Helens" before, Odette's mother started to dig into the family history via ancestry.com and discovered that Odette's Great Great Grandmother, Mary Quinn, fled Dublin around the 1850's and was working in a spinning mill in St Helens near Liverpool. In the time between two censuses, she had met, someone got pregnant, and then broke up with the guy, so the annals of history do not record his name. Odette decided that the couple deserved a song. Michael is also famed for playing the Uillean pipes, (aka Irish bagpipes), but I don't think I can hear any pipes on the single. Either way, the Irish flute or Irish pipes are so appropriate for a story that begins in Ireland.PB
Roswell Road - Weirdo At The Party
www.roswellroadmusic.com
Despite old age, I have long hair that cascades down my back, resulting in the occasional gender mis-interpretation. There have been a few times when some predator has pinched my bottom. Hopefully turning to face them and issuing a basso profundo 'OI!' may have cured them from ever doing it again. Jasmine Watkins and Zoë Wren are both extremely talented musicians, but they are afflicted with looks that might be described as weirdo-bait. When they sing "Weirdo At The Party", the second single from their debut album due for release on the 13th of March, the first thought is that the song is likely to be about their experiences with similar predators, but this is not the case. Jasmine wrote the song after attending a work party where she felt socially anxious and isolated - probably most of us have felt that way at some point - she was alone amongst a group of people who were enjoying themselves, so she was the weirdo at the party. She wonders how everyone around her got to be so cool, but in a clever twist at the end she changes the word 'cool' to 'cruel'. With their gorgeous harmonies, Zoë playing her beautiful Ibanez acoustic guitar and Jasmine playing her incredible eight string ukulele, this single is a wonderful taster for the upcoming album. PB
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Corsair is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.
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