Good Times Older

While there hasThnever been a dearthThof men picking upThacoustic guitars andThrecording folkThalbums, there hasThbeen a notable slew of them recently.ThImpressive albums of back-to-basicsThvoice and guitar have surfaced over theThlast few years from the likes of NickThHart, Jon Wilks and now Jack Sharp. AllThof them are to some degree infl uencedThby Martin Carthy, Nic Jones and/or BertThJansch; but Sharp's Good Times Older has more of a late 1960s/early 70s feelThto it than his folk-bloke peers. This won’t surprise anyone familiar with Sharp's psych-rock band Wolf People.

‘White Hare’ perfectly encapsulates the peculiar charm of monochrome 1970s-style English folk: gloomy yet energising, rarely straying from one single minor key yet remaining compelling. ‘Maids Lament’ has all the heavy-footed swing, simultaneously lumpen yet dainty, of the best English dance music; it also benefi ts from Edwin Ireland's cello and airy guest vocals from Stick in the Wheel's Nicola Kearey. Sharp's own singing voice takes a little getting used to; he has a slightly odd quasi-falsetto at times, occasionally sounding a little like Morrissey. But you warm to it, especially on the instantly likeable ‘Soldier Song’ and ‘Gamekeeper’.