MARKGAMON.COM
Album Reviews
Thursday's Band - Chittagong Tattoo
‘This is very good… Granny Mean is stunning. Quietly finger-picked, violin in the background, a rising chorus, and lyrics which capture the many emotions of someone with dementia… It works. It shouldn’t but it really does. Let the Fire Die Back…. is driven by violin and the interplay between male and female vocal. You pick up the story in the gaps between the images – and you want to join in that refrain. Difficult Man is a delightfully human song. The Chittagong Tattoo is a powerful title track. And Leavings has… lovely interplay between the instruments as they hand the lead briefly from one to the other and a final verse that brings light to darkness… It feels like you might want to see if you can get them to your folk club…’ MIKE WISTOW, FOLKING.COM
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'Beautiful storytelling, singing and playing transports you to cosy intimate interiors and rugged vibrant landscapes...' KAREN MACWHINNIE
Thursday's Band - All We Have in Common
'The songs on this album take you on a journey ... through the bleak darkness of ‘The Black Ship’, the quiet longing of ‘Cold Boston’, the understated sharing of emotion in ‘Train to Albion’ by way of the tongue in cheek humour of ‘Eating Mexican’, to the raw feeling of ‘Fly’ ... and if Lucinda’s vocals on ‘Jupiter’ don’t move your soul then you should start looking for it... A band that works its magic across its chosen genre, blurring and bending the edges along the way. Thursday’s Band deliver a musical voyage that once taken (and you should) you will certainly make again and again...'
FOLKWORDS
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'A perfect illustration of the versatility of the band and their material... Impossible to pigeon-hole... and always thought-provoking, melodic and skilfully executed...' THE UNICORN
Deck
'He writes. He sings. He tells stories. He does all three well. Forget genre - this is just good...' PAUL WOODGATE, R2 ****
'His lyrics make you think and think again...'
MAX ROBERTS, RADIO HUMBERSIDE
Accomplished and original...'
fROOTS
‘'This is poetry added to music… current folk built on far ranging inspirations… folk essences tinged with blues, stories replete with meaning, tunes to make their tales come alive, a warm voice that teases emphasis from every word and a subtly persuasive absorbing guitar style… lyrics that make you think and think again…'
CHARLIE ELLAND, FOLK WORDS
'It’s as though he takes a couple of steps to the side of his subject and writes what he sees from there… Thursday’s Band is big on strings and bass: a deep rich sound with harmony vocalists playing an important part… Deck came my way quite by chance but I’m very glad it did...'
DAI JEFFRIES, FOLKING.COM
'I wish all CDs I am sent were as good...'
MICHAEL WHIPP, RADIO NORTHUMBERLAND
Thursday's Band - Where the Breakers Roll
'Fans of Thursday's Band and Mark Gamon: Please be advised that the song 'Cowrie Beach' available on their new EP is about as catchy as catchy ever gets. Can't get the chorus out of my head. You have been warned...'
DANIEL NESTLERODE
Layer
'Authentic stories with a degree of traditional language and an occasional ringing mandolin… while the stories are delivered with a folky core, most of the songs actually have a contemporary feel… a warm finger-picking style nestles atop layers of decorative instrumentation, occasionally yielding to bluesy and country elements. The end result is a varied and inventive story-telling concept that manages to succeed while flying in the face of stylistic convention…'
MUSIC MAKER
'The songs really do sparkle with the journeys that are recounted… lives being characterised in sympathetically expressed lyrics…'
R2 MAGAZINE
'Genuinely witty in places – running almost contradictory to a blues undertone that reaches through the album… It definitely grows on you…'
FATEA
'A fine guitarist, singer and songwriter, in styles from folk to blues to jazz… it’s a great collection of stories and a very good listen…'
UNICORN MAGAZINE
