Albums to watch

Child Ballads

Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer

Child Ballads

The Vermont folk singer-songwriter teams up with guitarist and singer Jefferson Hamer for a collection of Francis Child's 19th-century British ballads

ADM rating[?]

7.3

Label
Wilderland
UK Release date
11/02/2013
US Release date
19/03/2013
  1. 10.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    The playing is exquisite, the singing vibrant, the arrangements like jewellery. It is absolutely beautiful
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  2. 8.0 |   The Independent

    A deeply satisfying album, steeped in mystery and enchantment
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  3. 8.0 |   Uncut

    The frequently repeated refrains help imbue both the fatalistic quality of the ballads, and a pop-conscious melodic familiarity which brings them in line with modern pop practice
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  4. 8.0 |   The Observer

    With archaic language updated by transatlantic twang, it's a winning addition to the canon
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  5. 8.0 |   Mojo

    She unexpectedly proves that her precious storytelling art is equally mesmerising on the great traditional ballads

  6. 8.0 |   The Arts Desk

    Anaïs Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer take liberties with the lyrics, as all their predecessors have done - but with a freshness that comes from bringing love and awe to works of abiding genius that merit perennial re-invention
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  7. 8.0 |   BBC

    These songs are dense and knotty yet relatively immediate affairs that unfold over several minutes
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  8. 7.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    The great gift of these ballads is the broad scope of interpretation they inspire and sustain, in some cases centuries after they were first sung
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  9. 7.0 |   Pitchfork

    These characters, made flat by design and even more by time, spring into full dimension, ache and grieve and flirt, live and die and get born again
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  10. 6.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    The sparse arrangements and repetitive melodies don’t invite the ear in nearly as closely as Mitchell’s recent LPs
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  11. 4.0 |   The Guardian

    Mitchell's bright, cute voice and the pair's shiny guitar playing feels too exquisite and overproduced, more about style and sound than the timeless material
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Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer: Child Ballads

  • Download full album for just £5.53
  • 1. Willie of Winsbury (Child 100) £0.79
  • 2. Willie's Lady (Child 6) £0.79
  • 3. Sir Patrick Spens (Child 58) £0.79
  • 4. Riddles Wisely Expounded (Child 1) £0.79
  • 5. Clyde Waters (Child 216) £0.79
  • 6. Geordie (Child 209) £0.79
  • 7. Tam Lin (Child 39) £0.79
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