Some nice reviews for Friends and Enemies; Lovers and Strangers have been coming in:
Folk Radio UK: ‘a highly original collection of compositions which can be enjoyed as a folk album like any other, but which repays a much closer listening to reveal a depth of understanding of its sources which shines a light on a classic text too often overlooked’
The Active Listener: ‘As otherworldly as the folk tales that inspired the music, this is an album that demands complete, rapt attention and careful listening … I cannot recommend this album highly enough.’
Terrascope Online: ‘Whilst the album features an array of instruments that add depth and texture to the songs, at its heart lies the unique and beautiful voice and songwriting of Sharron Kraus, this collection being, quite possibly, her finest to date, each song shining like sunlight on a distant mountain top, timeless and captivating.’
fRoots (May 2015): ‘a beautifully recorded and immensely atmospheric record, full of alternative tunings, dark modes and devils’ intervals.’
Bright Young Folk: ‘Friends and Enemies; Lovers and Strangers is an album that gives up its secrets slowly. It takes a few listens to get to grips with these deceptively simple songs, but the time and effort involved is more than worth it. An album to live with and to savour.’
BLISS Aquamarine: ‘The songwriting is contemporary, and whilst the harp, recorder and dulcimer arrangements are evocative of the medieval era when the tales from the Mabinogion were written down, the overall feel is not one of aping the past, but of using the past as a starting point for creative innovation.’
Daily Information: ‘What a magnificent album! Sharron Kraus’ latest album is influenced by her long stay in rural mid-Wales and is a retelling, in English, of some stories in the Mabinogion, a collection of stories written in Medieval Welsh. But far from being set in the past, these stories of love, betrayal, migrations and magic continue to resonate today.’
Norman Records: 7/10 ‘Friends and Enemies; Lovers and Strangers has a particular strand of folk DNA in it, a type that sounds ancient and conceives of a time long gone. Kraus’ interpretation, though, is fresh and crystalline, both recorded and performed as if these were wholly new stories.’
Atalho de Sons (in Portugese)
Music Won’t Save You (in Italian)