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    Album Of The Week Album Of The Week - 30/05/2026 Manran – The Test     We stay within the realms of contemporary folk music this week as we feature the second album from Scottish band, Manran with their 2013 release, The Test. Manran first came to my attention about 15 years ago during a time when I was delving quite heavily into modern folk music. With my love of the now retired Scottish band Runrig, I came across Manran and was drawn to their mix of influences and styles with their combination of English and Gaelic delivered songs. Although less rock orientated than Runrig there was an appeal to Manran that led me to add their self-titled debut album to my collection which was released to much acclaim. Among many positive reviews they received recognition at the Scottish Trad Folk awards receiving “album of the year” recognition for the release. It would be fair to say that this mix of traditional and contemporary styles did show a similar approach to...
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Album Of The Week 2026 - Archive

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   Album Of The Week 2026 - Archive Album Of The Week - 03/01/2026 Dark Fields - Show of Hands We kick off 2026 with a band that have made a massive impact on my music listening, the Devon based folk duo, Show of Hands, who comprise of singer/songwriter/musician Steve Knightley and the multi-instrumentalist and folk legend Phil Beer, formerly of the Albion Band. This week’s album, Dark Fields, is the fourth of my 32 Show of Hands albums to be selected as my album of week and its an album that has a special memory, as I bought it at a gig we attended at the Exeter Phoenix soon after Julie & I started following them. Dark Fields, released in 1997, is actually the bands 6 th  album although the first 3 were cassette only and are now long out of print. Therefore, Dark Fields is the third main release album and continued the success and acclaim Show of Hands had garnered from their previous 2 albums. In 1996, Show of Hands surprisingly booked the Royal Albert Hall and even...
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