Music / folk

Afterglow


Reviews (3)


The observer

d. 8. Oct. 2017

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By

Neil Spence

d. 8. Oct. 2017

"Jon Boden is celebrated as a folk stalwart and founder of the now dissolved big band Bellowhead. Afterglow, however, owes more to prog rock than to the folk canon, its elaborate arrangements, stop-start rhythms and melodramatic vocals recalling Gabriel-era Genesis with a dash of Bush and Bowie. It's a concept album too, its lovers lost in a post-oil urban dystopia ... Compared to Bellowhead, it's a damp squib".


The guardian

d. 5. Oct. 2017

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By

Jude Rogers

d. 5. Oct. 2017

"A frock-coated, Matrix-style movie star beholding a burning city before him, Jon Boden presents himself on the cover of Afterglow as the ambitious, genre-busting folk artist he's always been. This is his second solo album about a post-apocalyptic world, after 2009's Songs from the Floodplain ... The sturm-und-drang lyrics find an odd partner in the music (...), which largely wallows in a glossy, lovelorn Waterboys-style soundworld. This dilutes the urgency the story really needs; only the ragged guitars in Burning Streets, and the excellent penultimate track, Yellow Lights, driven by dark, low strings, offer that".


fRoots

2017 November

By

By

Colin Irwin

2017 November

"The easy option is never an option for Jon Boden. Which may well be the key to his trailblazing importance to British folk music ... After departing Bellowhead (...), here he is, huge band in tow, full of big, complex arrangements and a concept album set during a post-apocalypse party in an abandoned city ... It's a far, far cry from Bellowhead, that's for sure (...) - and, even given the contributions of Rob Harbron, Paul Sartin and Sam Sweeney, there isn't too much folkie about it ... A hugely ambitious but ultimately satisfying work that climaxes in exquisite fashion with "Aubade", the nearest thing here to a folk song, electric guitar, layers of strings, bombarding drums and all. Vivid lyrics, striking imagery, fascinating ideas, challenging arrangements and Boden's characteristically striking vocals - it has to be considered a Major Work".