Here’s a snapshot of English folk taken by two members of Stick in the Wheel, a recent and famously unvarnished London band. Their plan was to record assorted solo acts in situ – a kitchen, a garden, even a bank vault – and the outcome is a set of 17 intimate performances, many of them unaccompanied vocals, that attest to the simplicity, narrative drive and tenderness of folk craft. There are assured pieces from stalwarts Eliza Carthy and Jon Boden, bravura outings from Lisa Knapp and Bella Hardy, and regional accents such as Stew Simpson’s Geordie coalminer and Nicola Kearey’s music hall cockney. Sam Lee’s Wild Rover steals the show, revealing the sadness beneath what is usually a pub yell-along.
