The end of last year was a busy time for me and I got behind on news. So, belatedly, here’s a roundup of some reviews and articles that appeared late in 2018.
There were print reviews for Joy’s Reflection in Shindig! – 5 stars, ‘Not only is this probably Sharron Kraus’ best work, it’s one of the best albums you’ll hear this year.’ – RnR – 4 stars, ‘dreamy, haunting music’ – and Prog magazine – ‘a fine showcase for Kraus’.
I was interviewed by Italian music magazine Rockerilla as well as music won’t save you. Ondarock (another Italian website) reviewed the album.
There was a nice review of my Ghost Box single at Concrete Islands – ‘The overall effect is more akin to Alan Garner’s Weirdstone of Brisingamen than Tolkien however. Garner brings one close to the magic without getting rid of the pylons. So too do Sharron Kraus and Ghost Box’ – and MOOF magazine reviewed the Cafe Oto show I played together with Beautify Junkyards. Ned Raggett wrote a kind of retrospective feature on my work for Bandcamp.
Joy’s Reflection was included in a handful of end of year lists: FRUK, Concrete Islands, music won’t save you, and I was asked to contribute to Delusions of Adequacy‘s end of year list by choosing a favourite album of the year. I chose Aby Vulliamy’s Spin Cycle, which I’d been listening to over and over after playing shows with Aby in October.