Record Reviews

Ian has reviewed many albums over the years, primarily for Trad & Now and Folk Rag, as well as reviews circulated on his Facebook feed. This blog brings together many of those past reviews with more reviews to be posted in the future.

One Step Forward – Retrospective

Review published 2015 in Folk Rag (folkrag.org) One Step Forward, the (mainly) a cappella group of Maree Robertson, Ann Bermingham and John Thompson were a Brisbane based folk ensemble from 1990 to 1995. Focused on powerful three part…

Mark Cryle & Carmel Newman – The Taste Of The Rain

25 September, 2015 Review first published in Folk Rag (folkrag.org) Mark Cryle is one of Australia's best contemporary songwriters. It follows that any CD featuring songs from his pen is an eagerly anticipated delight. Let me tell you then…

Sadie & Jay – Rogue Folk

25 October, 2017 The soundtrack for my commute to and from work over the past couple of weeks, as well as my seemingly interminable trip to Norway, has been “Rogue Folk”, the exquisite second album from Sadie and Jay (Sadie Jones and…

Hailey Calvert – In The Hour Of The Wolf

The soundtrack of my commute from/to work yesterday & today (27 & 28 October, 2016) - Hailey Calvert's stunning new album "In The Hour Of The Wolf"!! This album is a tour de force - from the maturity of the songwriting (any song that…

Steve Tyson – Wrong Train, Right Station

Record review by Ian Dearden Steve Tyson's third solo album, Wrong Train, Right Station, is a tour de force, and I was delighted to be able to review it for Trad & Now in 2018.
Red Crow Burning North Sky Record Review by Ian Dearden

Red Crow – Burning North Sky

Review by Ian Dearden Súnas bandmates Sarah Calderwood and Paul Brandon (life and musical partners) have joined forces with Mirko Ruckels (Pretty Violet Stain) and Markus Karlsen (The Company) to form Red Crow, a band that inhabits the interstices…
Sadie Jay A passing of seasons record review

Sadie & Jay – A Passing Of Seasons

Review by Ian Dearden The soundtrack to my journeys by car, plane and foot over the past few weeks has been the third album by the wonderful Brisbane-based duo Sadie & Jay. Recorded at Parklands Studio by the magical Michael Fix, this…
Chloe & Jason Roweth CD review by Ian Dearden

Chloe & Jason Roweth – Light Another Fire

Record Review by Ian Dearden Chloe & Jason Roweth’s extraordinary and sprawling album, “Light Another Fire”, has been the soundtrack to my commute to and from work last week and this week!! This double CD album checks in at 130…
Jane Germain and Ian Simpson CD review by Ian Dearden

Jane Germain & Ian Simpson – Home on the Hill

Review by Ian Dearden If too much banjo is not nearly enough for you, then today’s “Commute to Work” album is for you. Actually, I have to confess – this album has been my commute to and from work soundtrack on a number of occasions…
Liz Frencham Love & Other Crimes record review by Ian Dearden

Liz Frencham – Love & Other Crimes

Savouring a new Liz Frencham album is like devouring a box of artisan chocolates. One part of you wants to make each chocolate last a week – the other part of you just wants to scoff the entire box in a single sitting. And so it is with this album – one part of me wants to play each one of the tracks on repeat so I can savour and devour each tiny detail for a week. The other part of me just can’t wait to hear each new track, to dive into the narrative and musical arc of this gorgeous masterpiece, and hear it as one stunning, panoramic whole that entirely captures and envelopes me.
Lizzie Flynn record review by Ian Dearden

Lizzie Flynn – You And The Open Sky

Record Review by Ian Dearden You And The Open Sky, the third solo album by Brisbane songstress Lizzie Flynn, is jam packed full of songs that creep quietly into your heart, and then just stay there!! Privileging quality over quantity, the…