From: jason robbins
[tofutastic_at_hotmail_dot_co_dot_uk]
Sent: 24 August 2008 20:21
Subject: RE: Sharron Kraus Gig
Ok, I have repeated
it here, many thanks.
TWISTED FOLK PRESENT…
SHARRON
KRAUS
LIVE AT ORANGE STREET MUSIC CLUB CANTERBURY
FRIDAY 24TH
OCTOBER
£5 admission Tel: 01227 760801
REVIEWS OF
SHARRON KRAUS
M.J. Fine, Philadelphia Citipaper: Best Local CDs of 2004
Recorded in her native Oxford, the second album from Fishtown transplant
Sharron Kraus is a dark-folk gem. Listening to her high, clear voice cut through
melodies woven from acoustic guitar, banjo and hurdy-gurdy, you may struggle to
remember which late-'60s traditionalists beat her to the material. But with one
small exception, these murder ballads and forest laments all come from Kraus'
pen. Here's one folklore expert whose originals feel both authentic and alive.
Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
* * * *
Byron Coley & Thurston
Moore, Arthur Magazine
Exquisite second album by this wonderful singer. She
conjures up visions of Karen Dalton, Shirley Collins, Judy Dyble and even early
Joni. Live she was fantastic too.
Rough Trade
The second album from
Oxford's fabulous Sharron Kraus is a wonderful follow-up to the haunting debut
'Beautiful Twisted'. … this moves from traditional folk (in a Shirley Collins,
Anne Briggs style) to her own songs and enchants all the way. An immaculate
album from a major new singer.
The Big Takeover
With a voice like a
younger Joan Baez, Sharron Kraus' second album begins with a hop and a skip up a
"Gallow's Hill" and perhaps a murder between lovers. ... a delicate record that
grows in depth with each listen. Play at night by yourself at your own risk.
Simon Lewis, Ptolemaic Terrascope
Like the dusty book of fairy tales
that so enchanted me as a child this album has the power to transport you to a
different realm. Full of haunting tales each song displays passion and maturity
throughout, the music and lyrics creating an absorbing and enchanting whole
where not a moment is wasted.
Chuck Rosenberg, Aural Innovations
...
what Sharron and her many guests do is as dark and mysterious as anything. …it's
life-and-death-affirming music and a great album.
Steve Rybicki, Fake Jazz
Rating: 11 / 12
On Songs of Love and Loss, Sharron Kraus accentuates the
strong literary sensibility in the tradition of English "dark folk" (the trunk
of the tree on which Appalachian murder ballads are the leaves) with stunning
results. Kraus continues the work of a historical continuum that began centuries
ago and has seen traditional champions in Shirley Collins, the Waterson and
Carthy families, and more recently in the work of Alasdair Roberts, Nick Cave,
and David Tibet. ... With Songs of Love and Loss, Sharron Kraus has offered a
revival in the best sense of the word. It is not just a rehashing of old ideas,
rather a new creation built on founding principles. At base, it is timeless
music expressing universal joy and sorrow with vivid imagery and sensitive
accompaniment. Far more than its deceptively modest title suggests.
Jeff
Penczak, Fake Jazz
Rating: 10 / 12
Kraus' gorgeously crystalline voice
[is] perhaps one of the clearest, sweetest, and most lilting instruments in the
current female folk canon.
Gerald Van Waes, Psyche Van Het Folk
Rating:
****
Sharron Kraus shows here the dark side of old folk music. [Her voice]
reaches a kind of emotional depth which is only rarely heard. The varied
acoustic (string instrument and acoustic guitars or banjo) accompaniment makes
the listening pleasure complete, an enthralling experience. This is very rich
music showing different aspects of feelings and expressions with each listen.
Now I consider it already as a classic. Highly recommended!
Sue Foreman,
Nightshift Magazine
Forget hardcore doom metal, folk music has always had
the closest relationship with death, its causes and effects. … Sharron Kraus has
always hovered around the bleaker side of folk and this latest full-length album
sets its stall out from the start. 'Gallows Song / Gallows Hill' finds blood-fed
trees flourishing on the hill where the protagonist finds her lover swinging
from a rope, eyes popping from his skull, a haunting, banjo-led melody gently
circling overhead like so many ravens. ... Stylistically, Sharron sinks her
roots into classic folk traditions, although there is a rich seam of Appellation
(sic) folk running through many of the songs. For the most part she captures
your imagination and comforts the listener in her rustic storytelling.
Michael Toland, High Bias
Dense, fraught with emotional tension and
little release, folksinger Sharron Kraus' second album updates the past couple
of centuries of acoustic music for a contemporary audience, without resorting to
modern gimmickry. …Reporting from the field in a beautifully modulated soprano,
Kraus walks us through a world of pre-dawn darkness, with an assurance that the
sun will come up any minute. Brilliant.
Jason MacNeil, Pop Matters
Sharron Kraus goes about her musical business in a very unique way … giving
each song a folksy nature with a grace that matches contemporaries like Kate
Rusby and Cara Dillon. … a haunting performance.
Toledo City Paper
These
are challenging songs, with a dark beauty.
Carolee, Gothic Beauty
Rating: * * * *
Incurable pessimists and disappointed romantics will be
glad that there are artists like Sharron Kraus to reinvent folk music for our
kind … Kraus' sorrowfully open-hearted love songs, twisted fables and ballads of
the doomed put a new spin on folk, keeping its storytelling quality and turning
its perspectives inside-out with honesty and a quirk of irony.
M.J. Fine,
South Jersey Courier Post
Sharron Kraus has a wicked way with murder
ballads. Songs of Love and Loss sounds like it must have been recorded during
England's late-'60s, early '70s folk boom. Right place, wrong time. …Among the
instruments Kraus plays are banjo, clarinet, guitar, hurdy gurdy and piano, but
her diamond-hard voice and lyrics cut deepest.
Dick Tersteeg, Mania
Songs of Love and Loss is definitely worthy of this beautiful name. Kraus is
blessed with a wonderful, melancholic sounding voice. Her vocals give a feel of
sadness and melancholy to every song. ... An even greater merit of this album is
that Sharron Kraus renews traditional folk in a subtle manner, giving it a place
in modern times.
(Translation by Linda de Boer.)
Lauren Kent, Jupiter
Index
Sharron Kraus's new album, "Songs of Love and Loss" can best be
described as gothic folk with British flavor. … Kraus has not only successfully
resurrected artful folk music from the '60s and '70s, but has added her own dark
nuances to the mix. If one has been waiting for authentic folk, her music
departs to a new place and takes the listener on that journey.
From: J_dot_B_dot_W_dot_Webber_at_kent_dot_ac_dot_uk
Subject: RE:
Sharron Kraus Gig
Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:40:53 +0100
Hi Jason,
can't open your attachment
- plain text in the body email works best for me and many of the
addressees such as SEFAN.
cheers,
Beau
Please see attachment.
Jason TWISTED FOLK
Get Hotmail on your mobile from Vodafone Try it
Now!
Get fish-slapping on Messenger! Play Now