Folk’s latest fresh-faced, vintage garb-wearing sensations formed around central London musical instrument shop Hobgoblin where several members worked (hence the band name), ran sessions in Matchstick Piehouse (the recently closed radical south London arts space known for jazz and cabaret nights) and are a sprawling queer collective, including members with fabulous names such as Rowan Gatherer and Sonny Brazil. So far, so hip.
But they’re loved by scene veterans too, including Martin Carthy (“they can play [and] sing and they’re fearless”, he told Tradfolk this year) while Paul McCartney, whose Soho Square HQ is around the corner from Hobgoblin, used to pop in to play harmonica with them. Their debut EP, an album-length, six-song showcase, mixes a twitchy, eager musicianship with rowdy flamboyance.
