1994
1994 Album ∙ Alternative Folk ∙ 2024 Nathan Evans Like unpolluted birdsong or fitness king Joe Wicks’ countdown buzzer, Nathan Evans singing sea shanties online is a sound that will always take Britain back to the days of the pandemic. In particular, the Airdrie artist’s viral take on whaling song “Wellerman” landed him a chart-topping single in 2021 and a major-label record deal. For all the success those covers brought the former postman, and all the joy they offered a locked-down nation, his focus was always establishing himself as a singer-songwriter of original material—a purpose this album serves well. Evans’ warm songs of love, resilience, and optimism borrow liberally from folk tradition: the busy banjoes and whiskey drinking of “Perfect Storm”; the gleeful fiddle scribbling through “Highland Girl”; and the haunted harmonies and intricately picked acoustic guitar of Foy Vance collaboration “I’m a Man.” However, “Perfect Storm”’s lyrical nod to Snow Patrol—“And now we’re dancing...