Songs Without Authors Vol 1

Every emerging folk singer likes to think their interpretation offers the listener a chance to hear, to think, something new: an unexpected pause, a surprising meander in a well-worn melody, a brave emphasis on a much-sung phrase. But how often do we truly hear a ‘Barbara Allen’ or a ‘Willie of Winsbury’ that manages to not only spark our weary ears but also feel a genuine part of the zeitgeist? Broadside Hacks, a London-based collective, might have, in this volume, put out something very special indeed. Among the cast there are names familiar to the contemporary folk scene – Lankum's Daragh Lynch and Yorkston/Thorne/Khan – but there are also bands more closely associated with the indie world, like Katy J Pearson. It is this diversity that gives this compilation such brave, full-bodied and enjoyable renditions of the songs we thought we knew.

Asha Lorenz of Sorry's deadpan exasperation is very much at home in ‘I Don't Feel at Home in This World’, while Aga Ujma's vocal aerobatics in ‘Uwoz Mamo Roz (Tell Me, Mother)’ has us reaching for the replay button. This album might prove an introduction to folk song, and for us seasoned listeners, the chance to remind ourselves of why we listen in the first place.