Category: EP Reviews

Here is another new name for us. THE TERN formed in London in 2025 as a duo of Finlay Glen and Gabriel Pearcey. Success spurred them on to expand to a quartet with Tien Albert on bass and Max Guest on drums and add electricity without going overboard and what we have now is their eponymous debut EP. Finlay is the songwriter and the band produces a timeless folk-rock/Americana sound.

The opening track, ‘Hard Luck’, is a rolling song that somehow manages to be uptempo and languid at the same time. Finlay borrows ideas from contemporary American songwriters and without any negative connotations, you’ll start thinking “Bob Dylan could have written this sometime in the sixties”. ‘The Hills Are Blue’ begins with jangly guitar and along with ‘Take What You Can Get’ explores what it takes to navigate modern life with densely plotted lyrics.

The final track, ‘Gentle James’, was The Tern’s first single as an acoustic duo and is the most English song, notwithstanding the steel guitar and harmonica. The record was produced by Ella Walker who has done a splendid job in getting the best from a new band.
https://www.instagram.com/theternmusic/

‘That’s What I Call Love’ provides a bouncy, uplifting opener to Eden, the new EP by TANGLEJACK. The Swansea duo, John-Paul Davies and Duncan Leigh build their retro sound on acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies but the concerns of their songs are totally modern. The five songs are re-recorded from their album ‘Eden’ to mark its tenth anniversary and are still in the band’s live repertoire.

The message of ‘That’s What I Call Love’ boils down to “be excellent to each other and yourself”. Of course, there are lot more words the way TangleJack say it. ‘I Pray’ has a much harder vibe coming from the howling harmonica and in some ways is reminiscent of a song by Edgar Broughton – an odd comparison. The pretty ‘Sunny Day’ brings a little lightness back but there is still an edge there. ‘Oh My Girl’ seems to gather together all sorts of influences from the acoustic guitar lead breaks to the Beatleish harmonies.

Finally, ‘Eden’ is a genuinely gentle song with complex lyrics evoking a sea voyage within the evolution of a relationship. TangleJack are remarkable songwriters and deserve wider appreciation outside their corner of Wales.
http://www.tanglejack.co.uk

A late 18th Century Gaelic ballad written by Sìne NicFhionnlaig and Ta capturing her emotions as she awaits her fisherman lover’s return, the villagers – and she herself -doubting his faithfulness, ‘Fhir A Bahta’ was recorded but never released by Sandy Denny and, produced by Marion Fleetwood, it’s her spirit that informs the piano-led version by CLEMENTINE LOVELL AND GERGELY NAGY (Parlour Arts), his drums, guitar and bass anchoring her soaring vocals.
www.clementinelovell.co

‘Until The Cradle Falls’ is a richly arranged song from Passing Places, the new album by Norfolk singer/songwriter PAUL THOMPSON who blends elements of the classic nursery rhyme with thoughts on the arrival of summer. Inevitably, we are reminded that autumn and winter will follow on so totally this isn’t a totally uplifting track although it is undoubtedly a powerful one.
https://www.paulsmusic.co.uk/

Popularised by Martin Carthy, cowed by awe of the original JON WILKS has long steered clear of recording he traditional ‘Geordie’. However, fully learning the arrangement while on the Songs of Martin Carthy tour, he’s finally taken the bit between his teeth for his download only version which, while staying close to Carthy’s, his vocals and phrasings very akin, adds his own jaunty swing to the fingerpicking.
www.jonwilks.bandcamp.com

In 1951 men of the Gloucestershire Regiment took a stand on Hill 235 during the Battle of Imjin River in Korea. The story is little known outside the archives but now it has been immortalized by the somewhat eccentric band KAEKH with the single, ‘Hold The Hill’.

Despite the blood and guts cover design, this is a more human story. The sound is folk-rock/electronica based on a pounding funereal drum beat, backing vocals that make it feel like a shanty and a lead vocalist who does a very passable Robert Plant. Proceeds will go to the British Legion poppy appeal.
https://www.kaekh.com/

Following quickly on the heels of ‘The Reckoning’, written in response to the murder of Renee Goode by ICE agents, AMY SPEACE returns with the slow walking drawled Americana of ‘The Days Of Letting Go’ (Windbone Records) which, beginning life as a poem inspired by passing a religious road sign reading ‘Opioids kill, Jesus saves’ on the drive back to Nashville transformed into a song about grief and regret. The refrain sung, the verses spoken, it’s written from the perspective of a woman reminiscing about her late father and their relationship as she sings “There’s things you say that can’t be unsaid/We burn our bridges and we bury our dead”.
www.amyspeace.com

Belfast singer/songwriter GOOD SWIM undoubtedly has a real name but he’s not telling. After a while away from the recording studio he is back with a new single, ‘Chasing Shadows’, built on finger-picked acoustic guitar. It’s part love song, part cry of despair at the state of the world and not comfortable listening.
https://www.instagram.com/youreagoodswim/

They somehow sound Australian even before they start singing and then it’s obvious. VALLEY ROAD release ‘Collapse’, the second single from their forthcoming second album. It starts prettily with acoustic guitars joined by lap steel and then, “Sometimes I just collapse, usually when I’m driving” sings Marty Mckenna. It sounds dangerous but Marty also admits to drinking too much sometimes. Actually, it’s about being overwhelmed by an emotion for no apparent reason.
https://www.facebook.com/valleyroad.duo

‘Hardware Store In Heaven’ is the sort of song that Dolly Parton might have written; down to earth and pragmatic but with higher intentions and a pure country sound. The writer and singer is EMMA WORLEY and it is taken from her forthcoming album, Forever Beginner. It’s clever and fun and whets the appetite for the album.
https://www.instagram.com/emma___worley/

JASON BAKER sounds like a mild-mannered banjo picker but his single ‘We Could Do It Any Old Time’ takes an off-kilter view of the state of the world and the USA in particular. A critique of Trumponomics? We wouldn’t want to put words into his mouth.
http://jbakervt.com/#about