Mark Whitfield, Americana UK americana-uk.com/cd-reviews/item/jason-mcniff-april-cruel
Chris Nickson reviews April Cruel at allmusic.com: www.allmusic.com/album/april-cruel-r2249871
"a post Nashville Skyline Dylan" - Uncut ****
"one of the Uk's best kept secrets" - Phil Alexander, Mojo ****
"a triumph of English Americana" - Time Out
"dark tales of drunkenness and murder" - The Independent
The 11 tracks on Jason McNiff’s Nobody’s Son are subtly beautiful. Flanked by members of Grand Drive and the Hank Dogs, McNiff abandons the electric-guitar solo and cymbal crash for a more understated approach featuring a variety of acoustic arrangements and mysterious subject matter.
McNiff surrounds much of the album with the dark lyrical themes commonly associated with the British folk scene he came from.
| RT @colonelstewart: @WhisperingBob you might consider the highly underrated @jasonmcniff who album you have for a play. try track 2 x | |
| @doneoveroff sure thang | |
| @doneoveroff hey r u coming tonight? | |
| @quietloner should be ok, i hope! how's u? | |
| @DarrenJBoyd @NaturalAshyBoyd be lovely to see you guys at the Borderline on Monday, if you can make it. (opp. Foyles, Orange yard) | |
| @colonelstewart Hope the colonel can make it out on Monday! Cheers Nick |
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"April Cruel is Bradford-born Jason McNiff's 4th studio album. Dubbed 'serious talent ... the old fashioned way' by MOJO magazine, McNiff is a guitar wielding troubadour of Polish and Irish descent. Here, he has collated a wealth of travelling, gigging, gambling and chaotic adventure into this fresh, beguiling gem of a record. Shanty ballads of Yorkshire love affairs, divorce and partisan soldiers depict a world where the past still shapes our future. In McNiff's dexterous fingers, European folk is reborn with the vigour and enchantment of a songwriter who has arrived at his artistic destination. Tales of loss, war and domestic bickering evolve into sweet, poetic triumph." - Sarah Gillespie, Jazz singer and poet (www.sarahgillespie.com)
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