I believe that it would be fair to say that the folk scene is experiencing another serge in popularity at the moment. With artist such as Mumford & Sons or Elle Goulding all being sited as having a folk influence its no wonder people begin searching for real folk music. And once you've started searching, amazing and brilliant talents like Bella Hardy tend to surface.
A Derbyshire lass, Bella has had three albums out to date. 'Night Visiting', 'In The Shadow of the Mountains' and now this latest offering, 'Songs Lost & Stolen'. But this album is really an album of firsts. Its the first time that all of songs were written by Bella herself and its the first time the album is released under Navigator Records, but more on that later.
The album features 12 tracks all written by Bella and the girl clearly has a talent for it. The songs are a mixture or folky ballads and various tales of love and woe, sung with a cool, calm grace which is what I feel folk music is all about. Or at least what it should be about.
The style is very traditional, it would be very easy to have made this album more poppy but with some many folkies doing going down that path its nice to hear someone who's sticking with her roots.
Whilst this is Bella's third album, but its the first one on Navigator Records. They are the label behind acts such as big band folk ensemble, Bellowhead.
The supporting artists on the album reads like a who's who of navigator stars, including Kris Drever of the group, Lau. Folk songstress, Kate Rusby also lends her vocal talent but despite the musical assistants, it's Bella's soft and silky vocals that really make this album stand out and with Mattie Foulds producing this is clearly a recipe for success.
If I had anything negative to say, its only that some of the songs are pretty short. The whole album is around 42 minutes which is a little short for a 12 track album. Which is actually a complement rather than a negative. I left me want to hear more.
None the less this is a great album to just stick on and chill out for a bit. A nice wind-down on a lovely springs day, it seems to fit with this unseasonal warmth we've been having lately.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
A Derbyshire lass, Bella has had three albums out to date. 'Night Visiting', 'In The Shadow of the Mountains' and now this latest offering, 'Songs Lost & Stolen'. But this album is really an album of firsts. Its the first time that all of songs were written by Bella herself and its the first time the album is released under Navigator Records, but more on that later.
