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Blair Dunlop
01. Secret Theatre
02. Less the Pawn
03. Fallout
04. Threads
05. Billy In The lowground
06. Black Is The Colour
07. The Gown
08. Bags Outside The Door
09. Trouble
10. Seven Brothers
11. Blight & Blossom

The British folk scene has produced a series of impressive dynasties, and this looks like the start of yet another. Blair Dunlop is the 20-year-old son of Ashley Hutchings, famed for his role as co-founder of Fairport Convention, and this assured debut set shows that he is already an accomplished guitarist and singer, with considerable potential as a song-writer. His style is impressively varied, switching from thoughtful, drifting ballads to more upbeat songs, often with an American country or bluegrass edge, and a series of covers. It's often his instrumental work that is most distinctive, from the finger-picking guitar on Secret Theatre (his contribution to the "who wrote Shakespeare?" debate) to the piano playing on The Gown, another unlikely ballad, dealing with the Mormon belief that women can become angels. Elsewhere, he tackles more predictable topics, from stifled lives to the dumbing down of the arts. He's at his best on the traditional Black Is the Colour and a bleak, previously unrecorded Richard Thompson song, Seven Brothers. The American band Larkin Poe add classy support on several songs – and his dad makes one appearance on bass.

Robin Denselow - The Guardian

Blair Dunlop - Blight & Blossom

Blair Dunlop

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Blair Dunlop - Blight & Blossom

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