Back in March 2017, in my Album of the Month post on Moroccan Roll by Brand X, I opined that the latest incarnation of the band had fully rekindled the energy and enthusiasm of their early albums. As evidence I cited a live version of Malaga Virgen recorded on their reunion tour just a few…Read more Burning Shed Free EP
ambient
Feathers
As promised in the previous post, here is my review of Feathers, the 2014 album by Poppy Ackroyd. It will be brief, not because the music is dull but because no dictionary in Crotchety Man's extensive library has adequate words for the soothing, susurrating sounds that emanate from the hi-fi when it is commanded to…Read more Feathers
Men Singing
Back in September 2015 the Crotchety Man blog carried a brief review of the Free Henry Fool EP. At the time I said I would be exploring more of their work "very soon". Being an honest, upright citizen and a man of my word I did, indeed, do a little research and added their 2001…Read more Men Singing
Cantorum
This is the second instalment in my campaign to introduce a new term into the dictionary of musical styles: orchestral beats. That tag first appeared in my review of the Archipelago album by Hidden Orchestra in November of last year. Then last week's Release Radar included something that sounded very similar: Cantorum by Penguin Café. As far as…Read more Cantorum
No Reason
It's a bright, but frosty morning here in the East Midlands region of the UK - a day in which the rising sun should be welcomed by peeping out from the bedclothes with a sleepy smile and snuggling down for another twenty minutes while the central heating chases away the overnight chill. It's Sunday. There's no reason to get up…Read more No Reason
Familiar
The 'classical' tag appears in these posts from time to time. Sometimes it refers to music from the years 1600 - 1900 but more often it indicates modern music in a style that owes a substantial debt to that period. Familiar is one of those more recent compositions. It is a single taken from Agnes Obel's forthcoming album Citizen of Glass…Read more Familiar
A Glorious Dawn
Crotchety Man was brought up in a semi-religious environment: born in a (largely) Christian country, educated in Church of England schools, singing in the church choir, but growing up in a family for whom religion was essentially irrelevant. I was immersed in Christianity but not a part of it. Given no guidance I was left to…Read more A Glorious Dawn
A Whisper …
Tuesday morning. Barney is almost here. This year the UK's Meteorological Office is naming the storms that hit us. Abigail, the first storm of the season, brought floods last week; Barney is now following in her wake. The forecasters have promised us strong winds and more heavy rain; there is likely to be some disruption to transport.…Read more A Whisper …
Free Henry Fool
While looking for Bill Bruford CDs I was directed to the Burning Shed website. Burning Shed publishes CDs and vinyl records on behalf of a few select musicians and hosts the online shops for various artists/bands. Two things make Burning Shed admirably different: 1) the copyright of the works they publish remains with the artist and 2) it…Read more Free Henry Fool
Danses Sacrée …
On those rare afternoons when Mrs Crotchety is out and I have nothing particular to do I like to listen to the Radcliffe and Maconie show on BBC 6 Music. Last Monday Stuart Maconie was presenting solo and in amongst the usual rock and indie tracks he played something by Debussy called Danses Sacrée et Profane. It's a quiet, contemplative…Read more Danses Sacrée …
