Album Review – RAG FOUNDATION – The Sparrow And The Thief

I was first informed of this release in September… Life sometimes dictates that some things will pass you by… Just like life sometimes will pass you by – all too quickly these days…
Bitter is the night and black is the sea, but Neil and Kate Ronconi-Woollard, Richard Cowell, Huw Rees and Daniel KilBride who make up Rag Foundation can certainly change your weather and brighten the day.

Hailing from Swansea, they are like a mature cheddar, or at least this album, ‘The Sparrow And The Thief’ has been nicely marinading in my collection for the past six weeks or so. My first impression is that it’s most definitely an autumnal album; I coincidentally lit the log fire tonight for the first time… The album didn’t end up on it (as some do)… It most certainly offered the perfect accompaniment to it… They open with The First Day of September and you know it’s going to be treat after treat here on in.

They call it alt-folk… Yeah I can go along with that… Love the upbeat nature of the tracks, great fiddle work in a Cockney Rebel mould (although sans electric), a You Slosh arrangement (without the Irish jiggery pokery) and great dual M/F vocals on all the tracks.
Like the almost dark nature of the closer (albeit too short) Beloved.

It’s most certainly an album that’ll be played again and again…

More here…