Patrick Wolf teased the release of his new EP on Instagram, playing a rendition of the title song ‘Better or Worse’ on the octave lyre. He also states in the Instagram post that he has had a five string electric viola made especially for his current tour, showcasing his creativity. Early in Wolf’s career, he made his own instruments whilst part of London’s underground art and music scenes. Wolf also studied French and lived in Malaga, Spain allowing him to speak both Spanish and French in his music.

His latest EP is a perfect example of this, the third track ‘Hymne Des Étrangers’ is a slow ballad sang in French while the 4th song ‘Mejora O Empeorar’ is a electronic-folk song sang in Spanish. On Instagram, Wolf wrote “I guess this a good time to tell you a “better or worse” e.p will be yours on Monday, with my first song I’ve written in the French language “Hymne Des Étrangers” and the Spanish language reworking and summer of 2025 re-production of Better or Worse called “Mejora O Empeorar””.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by PATRICK WOLF (@patrickwolf)

Patrick wolf released his debut album ‘Lycanthropy’ in 2004, first showcasing his unique blend of folk, electronica and baroque pop. In this album, he struggles with themes of isolation and addiction. These themes continue through his next releases, ‘Wind in the Wires’, released in 2005, through to ‘Lupercalia’, released in 2011. After the release of ‘Lupercalia’, Wolf took a long hiatus to focus on personal growth, sobriety and creativity. When he returned in 2023 with the ‘Night Safari EP’, it marked the beginning of a new chapter – one shaped by sobriety, reflection, and a deepening interest in language and cultural expression. ‘Better Or Worse’ continues that journey.  

Wolf is currently touring his latest full-length album “Crying the Neck’ , fan honest and intimate album that includes highlights such as ‘Limbo’ featuring Zola Jesus, and ‘The Last of England’ a single Wolf calls “his national anthem”. Here is the music video to his latest single.

Patrick Wolf is playing a show at the beautiful open air Minack Theatre in Penzance, Cornwall on September 5 2025, where he will play his 2005 seminal album ‘Wind in the Wires’ to celebrate it’s 20 year anniversary, before heading over to the USA and Canada to begin his tour there. Tickets for his show at Penzance are available here

Tracklist:

• Better Or Worse
• Hymne Des Étrangers
• She Didn’t Dance
• Mejora O Empeorar
• Better Or Worse (Instrumental)
• Better Or Worse (El Lobo Remix)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nick Drake (@nickdrakeofficial)

Released just after Drake’s 21st birthday, his solo effort was produced by Joe Boyd, who had already worked with Pink Floyd, and would go on to produce work by Toots & The Maytals, R.E.M., and Billy Bragg. ‘Five Leaves Left’ went largely unnoticed by the masses during Drake’s lifetime, though is now recognised for its emotional honesty, as well as its delicate string arrangements.  

The collection is split across four discs. The first disc includes Drake’s first Sound Techniques sessions, also known as the Beverley Martyn demo, and was at the centre of a legal row in 2014 over ownership rights. The auction guide at the time said that Drake’s “guitar playing is stronger, more baroque, with the voice smoother and more resonant than the highly produced released versions”. The second disc includes what is being called the “Paul de Rivaz Reel”, featuring recordings from Drake’s time at university, and was only discovered during the 9-year ‘Making of…’ project.

The original album’s engineer, John Wood, has been involved in the remastering process, and the sequence of the album has been deliberate. Where one Reddit user bemoaned two or three versions of songs being placed one after another, another defended the order, arguing that it allows for listeners to hear the creative process and the evolution of songs. 

Comment
byu/SomethingFiveTimes from discussion
inVinylReleases

 Included in the box set is a 60-page book written by Neil Storey and Richard Morton-Jack which details the story behind Drake’s debut, and the efforts involved in this collection. Storey has defended the release against accusations of recycled material and price gouging, taking to the comments section of Super Deluxe Edition to tell detractors: “I began researching this project over nine years ago and to be tarred with a brush which suggests rip-off shows utter disrespect for Nick, his music and those of us who’ve worked as hard as we have to bring this out into the open.”

At the time of its release in 1969, ‘Five Leaves Left’ received a mixed reception. Drake’s talent was clear for all to see, but reviewers said that his lyrics lacked urgency and directness. The album’s reputation has grown significantly in the five decades since its release, and modern critics have been far more generous in their reviews, with Ian MacDonald calling it “cool and shady amid the celebratory sunshine in the late Sixties”.

Drake would release two more albums in his short career before passing away in 1974 aged 26. Sadly, he would never see how influential his work would become, having been cited as an inspiration by Kate Bush, Robert Smith, George Michael, and many more across a range of musical styles.

 ‘The Making of Five Leaves Left’ is retailing at £94.99 for the 4LP version, and £89.99 for the 4CD version, if bought through the Island Records site. It is the most comprehensive collection of Drake’s earliest works, and will prove to be a treasure trove of one of music’s most enigmatic characters. The album will be released on 25 July.

The pair, consisting of John Spiers and Jon Boden, first burst onto the folk scene in 1999, playing homage to traditional folk music within a modern scene by utilising common themes of history and culture alongside the backdrop of enticingly conducted instrumentation, featuring melodeon, concertina, fiddle, guitar and a stomp box. Renowned for being one of the most phenomenal partnerships in folk, Spiers & Boden have seven studio albums to their name and a legendary side-project Bellowhead. Founding the folk supergroup (of 11 members) Bellowhead, the band bring a rousing and lively spin to traditional folk songs and shanties, even selling out The Royal Albert Hall on multiple occasions. Despite announcing a hiatus after their 2014 tour, the pair’s legacy would remain prominent in folk, igniting their 2020 reunion and 2021 LP ‘Fallow Ground’ which peaked at Number 3 on the Official Folk Albums Chart.

The ‘Rochdale Coconut Dance’ performers will take on Taunton Brewhouse as part of their 11-date spring tour across the UK. The pair will perform in many prominent locations, including: Milton Keynes, Halifax and Liverpool, before concluding in Somerset.

Winning numerous BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards throughout their time in the industry, it is no doubt that tickets for their upcoming shows will sell out quickly. Tickets for their Taunton Brewhouse show can be purchased via the venue’s box office on 01823 283244, or through Spiers & Boden’s website, here – costing just £23.

Oh yes! It’s tour announcement time everyone!
We’ll be hitting the road in February and March next year playing songs and tunes from across all 6 of our albums in a room near you … book early to avoid disappointment. Ticket links from https://t.co/dDB9X8ldM6 pic.twitter.com/d8T9Rcc2wG

— Spiers & Boden (@spiersandboden) September 18, 2024

A press release for the upcoming show, referred to a quote from the Guardian which noted the groundbreaking partnership as “the finest instrumental duo on the traditional scene.”

The release went on to contextualise the ambience of Spiers & Boden’s live performances paying respect to a review from the Observer which penned the event as being “exquisitely played” as “the pair are still the dons.”

The upcoming show will see the duo perform chart-topping tracks, fan favourites such as ‘Bold Sir Rylas’ and ‘Captain Ward’ and even captivating and lively instrumentals for attendees to enjoy.

Talking about the album’s conception and meaning with Clash, Davie explains how the album attempts to discuss mental health in a frank and empathetic manner: “It’s the main overarching theme with this record… It probably speaks to our struggles and hopefully many other people’s too. Men are not very good at talking. We’re not really taught how to. Men have no idea how to talk about this stuff, certainly to each other“. Going on to provide further insight, Davie reveals that elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid was a big inspiration both musically and lyrically for him and fellow band member Kevin Jones: “We spoke at length about this album while recording ‘Blue Hours’. We’d both been fans of elbow for a long time but this record felt like musically, lyrically and on a production level, everything clicked into place. There was a kind of bravery and an assuredness in the risks that elbow took on this record that only comes from a band that’s on top of their game. It’s a beautiful album and a favourite of both of ours.”

If their current position in the UK’s official album charts is anything to go by, then it seems they too are on top of their game. In a tweet recently put out by the band, they reveal that they are currently charting at a career high of number 5 in the midweeks.

We’re #5 in the UK album chart midweeks, and it’s all thanks to you legends! Pick up a copy of our new album from our online store, your local record shop or from our Bristol and London shows before Thursday and help make Blue Hours a top 10 record! https://t.co/UEIg9CCgeMpic.twitter.com/QrkguvHIsi

— Bear’s Den (@bearsdenmusic) May 17, 2022

Bear’s Den look to continue their success by touring non stop for the remainder of May at venues all around the UK and Ireland. You can catch them on the road at any of the dates below:

May 17 2022 – O2 Academy – Bristol

May 18 – Eventim Apollo – London

May 21 – 3Olympia Theatre – Dublin, IE

May 22 – Albert Hall – Manchester

May 23 – O2 Academy – Glasgow

May 25 – University Of Newcastle – Newcastle

May 26 – O2 Institute – Birmingham

May 27 – Stylus – Leeds

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Michael Chapman (@michaelchapmanguitar)

Michael Chapman was born in Leeds in 1941 and began releasing music in the late 60s, with his formative debut Rainmaker being released in 1969 on EMI-owned label Harvest, cementing his place in history as an esteemed, and occasionally unsung hero of British music. Chapman’s output in the following decades showed no signs of slowing down, with a further ten albums being released in the 1970s and another nine albums between 1980 and 2000. Impressively, the musician’s final album True North was released in 2019 when he was 77 years of age.

By that point, Chapman had amassed over forty albums across his career and had been regularly touring the UK, USA and Europe. In 2012, a cover album celebrating his work was released by Tompkins Square Records, entitled Oh Michael, Look What You’ve Done: Friends Play Michael Chapman. The record featured contributions from musicians such as William Tyler, Lucinda Williams and Thurston Moore.

As for his sound, Chapman was no meagre emulation of his contemporaries or peers, which is evidenced not only by his songwriting abilities and thoughtful lyrics but in particular the virtuosic guitar playing that features all across his discography; from the blistering instrumental tunes on Rainmaker to the subdued, bittersweet fingerpicking of 1995’s Navigation.

Since his passing, an outpouring of heartfelt tributes have been made in Chapman’s memory by friends, family and prominent musical figures such as Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, who stated “We got to know England when (and because) we got to know you. Thank you hero. Rest in Ecstatic Peace Michael Chapman (1941-2021)”, accompanied by a video of Chapman playing the guitar.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Thurston Moore (@thurstonmoore58)