Guardian Folk album of the month: 'Old Wow' by Sam Lee - "full of space and warmth"

"A spine-tingling collection of traditional songs, artfully reinterpreted for contemporary ears and concerns. It is folk music that demands to be heard in the 21st century" - Telegraph says in a review of Sam Lee's new album (gave it 5 of 5 stars). It was produced by Suede's Bernard Butler, with guest vocals from the Cocteau Twins’ Liz Fraser, and it's title 'Old Wow' is Lee’s phrase about the enduring power of nature. The Guardian chose it as their latest Folk album of the month - "Butler has produced Old Wow like a soul record, full of space and warmth. But this treatment fills Lee’s clear, precise diction with a stark, longing quality that carefully handles and never sugarcoats its subjects. Add a sleepy Sunday-morning John Martyn jazz vibe, all walking bass, piano and shivery strings, and the effect is exquisite". The Observer likes it as much - "It’s a daring piece of chamber folk whose human dramas – abandonment, loss, love – come suffused with the natural world".