Albums to watch

Heart's Ease

Shirley Collins

Heart's Ease

Ninth album in six decades from the British singer-songwriter features four non-traditional songs

ADM rating[?]

8.2

Label
Domino
UK Release date
24/07/2020
US Release date
24/07/2020
  1. 10.0 |   The Observer

    The veteran singer’s comeback really takes wing with this impeccably judged set
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  2. 9.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    It goes some way further towards entrenching her unique position in British culture
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  3. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    Collins is a musical key worker, her songs compelling at every turn
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  4. 9.0 |   Uncut

    It's as touching, beautiful and dark as any of Collins' records, and even pushes her sound into new territories. 65 years into her recording career, that modern approach to folk music is still yielding treasures. Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Her voice and band discernibly crackle with confidence. Print edition only

  6. 8.0 |   Q

    A poignant revisiting of Whitsun Dance catches the profound power of this richly arranged album. Print edition only

  7. 8.0 |   Record Collector

    Heart’s Ease is ample evidence that Shirley Collins still has the ambition, passion and guts to not only document where folk has come from but where it’s going. A lodestar, indeed
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  8. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    The folk veteran’s past, present and future come together on this full-hearted record
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  9. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    It feels haunting, unexpected. She has the power to surprise and delight
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  10. 8.0 |   All Music

    Lodestar was a joyous reminder that Shirley Collins hadn't truly gone away. Heart's Ease goes further, revealing she's still a vital performer and an artist willing to explore new and unfamiliar territory, suggesting a more interesting future than listeners might have imagined
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  11. 8.0 |   Clash

    At times easy on the ear, at others challenging – the drone-heavy ‘Crowlink’ is essentially Sunn O))) let loose in Cecil Sharp House – it’s a real banquet, a feat of folk re-contextualisation driven forward by the sharp emotional instincts of its formidable maker
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  12. 8.0 |   The Independent

    A lovingly warm document of a life lived through folk
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  13. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Don’t call it a comeback; at 85, Shirley Collins is releasing the best music of her career
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  14. 8.0 |   The Arts Desk

    ‘Heart’s Ease’ ends surprisingly, with the foremost exponent of England’s vocal folk tradition in a new world
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  15. 7.8 |   Beats Per Minute

    Heart’s Ease captures the Shirley Collins of the present day, and is in no way an attempt to recreate times passed. And yet the continuity is crystal clear: Collins’ devotion to the folk tradition is as strong as ever
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  16. 7.6 |   Pitchfork

    The English folk maven sounds spry as ever, leading a light-footed exploration of traditional forms that also tips toward classic psychedelia
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