Rag Foundation

The Rag Foundation are a five piece based in Swansea and this is their fourth album. Although they draw from a range of influences they are firmly encamped within the folk movement, and if you catch Bitter is the Night and First Day of September, you’ll hear why.

That, however is only a part of it as an earful of Run brings to mind the mid 70’s and in particular Fleetwood Mac at their vinyl shifting height. What they also have is an underlying melancholy, that’s offset by their exquisite use of sound and harmonies such as on the brooding Beloved, and Your Hands’ off kilter rhythms and vocals give it a certain other-worldliness that’s a trifle unsettling.

Elsewhere the band are in a more raucous mood on Freedom is a Stranger, and take on a statelier mantle for the Sparrow Song. There’s a couple of tracks which maybe don’t quite hit the mark but in the main it’s a well-rounded album which should keep the folkies happy and maybe attract the more curious listener.