Faustus discography

Like many others, I was disappointed when Dr Faustus disbanded. But Faustus is a worthy successor. The trio - Saul Rose, Benji Kirkpatrick, and Paul Sartin, are all capable of fronting a band in their own right, but here they concentrate on the blend.

We’ve waited a fair while for Faustus’s début, and it doesn’t disappoint. These are fresh interpretations of traditional songs; both familiar and innovative. Terrific arrangements of acoustic instruments, with strong singing. Highlights are Brisk Lad and Acre of Land; but there isn’t a duff track here.

I must admit I was new to Faustus when I saw them supporting Spiers & Boden, but I was blown away by their live performance and immediately bought the album. The perfect blend of voices and instruments, with an exciting multi-layered approach to arrangements (Nic Jones meets Lonnie Donegan in the gentle lyricism of my favourite track, Ballina Whalers), you hardly notice the superb skill and musicianship of these guys because you (and they) are so busy having fun. Great rootsy good-time music - more please!

Bringing together three highly competent and respected musicians (two from Bellowhead and one from folk’s flagship family, Waterson-Carthy) Faustus were always going to be exciting, and this album doesn’t disappoint. An exciting blend of instruments, oboe, violin, melodeon, guitar and bouzouki alternate between the tracks, lending variety and interest to the selection – and the song selection itself is excellent, ranging from the powerfully mournful to the positively get-up-and-dance. The performances are near perfect, and the sets of tunes are brilliant.

If there’s a slight downside (and it is VERY slight) Faustus don’t quite have the vocal power of some other folk bands around, none of their voices are quite as strong as, for instance, Jon Boden’s. But having said that there are two really nice vocal performances; The Hostesses Daughter and Balina Whalers – though pedantically you could call the latter a somewhat misguided and short-sighted piece of advice from the whaler sailors to the other fishermen, advising them to forget their day-to-day catch and go search the humpback whale; probably not something that’s going to help out the fishing communities’ socio-economic sustainability… ;-) But you can’t blame Faustus for that, they didn’t write it!

All in all a good album, the only real pity being that the first track isn’t one of the strongest, meaning you might start with a little apprehension, but even then, it’s better than most other stuff around.

Wow! It may have been a long time in the pipeline, but this first album from the hyper-energetic threesome surpasses even my own high expectations. Combining two of the late Dr. Faustus (Paul Sartin and Benji Kirkpatrick) with the folk world’s number one go-to man for both withering wit and melodeon magic (Saul Rose), it’s a genuine tour de force.

After opening with the mighty, largely acapella (I Am A) Brisk Lad - one from the Sartin ancestry - this eponymous effort never looks back, exploring a thrilling range of material while never sounding less than cohesive. The highlights are many, but particular standouts are the revisiting of Harry Roberts’ Ballina Whalers (recorded by Nic Jones as The Humpback Whale), the ludicrously fun tuneset beginning Next Stop: Grimsby - potentially convoluted tunes which unwind with utterly infectious inevitability - and, my personal favourite, Will the Weaver: simply the most characterful and sing-along-able track I’ve heard all year.

Combine all this with Stu Hannah’s punchy production, plus the typically handsome Navigator Records packaging, and Faustus easily stakes its claim as one of the best trad-based albums of recent years. Let’s just hope that the band’s manifold other commitments - among them Bellowhead, Belshazzar’s Feast and, in Saul Rose’s case, just too many to mention - don’t prevent a follow-up appearing in the not-too-distant future.