Written by: Paul Gleason
[Featured image by Andy Martin/martintype.co.uk]
Esteemed record producer Joe Boyd would love The Left Outsides.
Featuring Alison Cotton and Mark Nicholas, the London-based duo will remind you of the baroque folk artists that Boyd produced in the late-1960s and early-1970s. The Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, and Vashti Bunyan come to mind.
As does the psychedelic, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, whom Boyd also produced.
On this year’s LP, The Shape of Things to Come, Cotton and Nicholas create a dark and haunting brew of psychedelic-folk music. It’s as if they went to Boyd’s school; passed his test for musical greatness alongside Sandy Denny, Nick Drake, and Richard Thompson; and made one of the most enchanting LPs of 2015.
But their voices – both instrumentally and vocally – are totally Cotton and Nicholas’ own. Just stay tuned to SEM for extensive coverage of the duo, and you’ll see what we mean.
For now, you can find them on Facebook and listen to an acoustic version of “One More for the Road,” which Cotton told SEM would be on the band’s next release.
Finally, The Left Outsides are set to play this year’s Green Man, which runs from August 20 through August 23 in Brecon Beacons, Wales. They’ll be joined by Dan Deacon, Hot Chip, Calexico, Mew, Temples, Viet Cong, Super Furry Animals, Television, Slowdive, The Fall, St. Vincent, Goat, and many other artists who share their commitment to musical innovation and exploration.
