Celebrating World Album Day 2023 with Folklore Sessions

Join us for some musical time-travel as we as celebrate World Album Day 2023 with a throwback to the '90s...

Here at Folklore HQ, we're big advocates for sticking a record on and listening to an album start to finish: the way it was meant to be heard. With this year's theme being an ode to the era of flannel shirts, Walkmans, and dial-up internet, we're turning back the clock and shining a spotlight on five of our favourite and most influential albums that have effortlessly withstood the test of time.

Dust off your cassette tapes kids - we're heading to the '90s.

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Either/Or - Elliott Smith (1997)

Release date: 25 February 1997

Runtime: 36:52

Standout tracks: "Say Yes," "Angeles," "Between The Bars," "Ballad Of Big Nothing"

Exceptional lyrics:

"Picking up the ticket shows there's

Money to be made

Go on, lose the gamble that's the

History of the trade

Did you add up all the cards left to play

To zero?

And sign up with evil, Angeles?" - Angeles

For fans of: Nick Drake, Mazzy Star, Bright Eyes, Neutral Milk Hotel, Big Thief, The National

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Heaven or Las Vegas - Cocteau Twins (1990)

Release date: 17 September 1990

Runtime: 37:42

Standout tracks: "Cherry-Coloured Funk," "Iceblink Luck," "Heaven or Las Vegas," "Wolf in the Breast"

Exceptional lyrics:

"You're the maraschino cherry coal (the match of Jerico)?

That will burn this whole madhouse down

And I'll throw open like a walnut safe

You will seem more like being

That same bottle of exquisite stuff" - Iceblink Luck

For fans of: The Cure, David Bowie, Thyla, Wolf Alice, Róisín Murphy, Boards of Canada

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Grace - Jeff Buckley (1994)

Release date: 23 August 1994

Runtime: 51:48

Standout tracks: "Lilac Wine," "Dream Brother," "Hallelujah," "Lover, You Should've Come Over"

Exceptional lyrics:

"It's never over

All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter It's never over She is the tear that hangs inside my soul forever

Oh, but maybe I'm just too young To keep good love from going wrong

Oh, lover, you should've come over" - Lover, You Should've Come Over

For fans of: James Blake, Portishead, Anna Calvi, Lana Del Rey, Scott Matthews, The Frames

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When the Pawn... - Fiona Apple (1996)

Release date: 9 November 1999

Runtime: 42:39

Standout tracks: "Limp," "Love Ridden," "Paper Bag," "I Know"

Exceptional lyrics:

"No, not 'baby' anymore

If I need you, I'll just use your simple name

Only kisses on the cheek from now on

And in a little while, we'll only have to wave" - Love Ridden

For fans of: Kate Bush, Bob Dylan, Bat For Lashes, Surfjan Stevens, Nina Simone, Feist

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OK Computer - Radiohead (1999)

Release date: 21 May 1997

Runtime: 53:21

Standout tracks: "Paranoid Android," "Karma Police," "No Surprises," "Tourist," "Frightened Rabbit"

Exceptional lyrics:

"A heart that's full up like a landfill

A job that slowly kills you

Bruises that won't heal

You look so tired, unhappy

Bring down the government

They don't, they don't speak for us

I'll take a quiet life

A handshake of carbon monoxide

And no alarms and no surprises" - No Surprises

For fans of: Pink Floyd, Aphex Twin, Broken Social Scene, Elbow, The XX, Frightened Rabbit

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The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Ms. Lauryn Hill (1998)

Release date: 25 August 1998

Runtime: 77:39

Standout tracks: "Ex-Factor," "To Zion," "Doo Wop (That Thing)," "I Used to Love Him"

Exceptional lyrics:

"As I look at what I've done

The type of life that I've lived

How many things I pray Father will forgive

One situation involved a young man

He was the ocean and I was the sand

He stole my heart like a thief in the night

Dulled my senses and blurred my sight

And I used to love him" - I Used to Love Him

For fans of: Etta James, Seinabo Sey, Lianne La Havis, Amy Winehouse, Mac Miller, Corinne Bailey Rae

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To be honest, we could go on forever... The '90s birthed some of the most iconic and influential music for today's up and coming artists, and we love the fact that the inspiration of the era continues to echo around us. Let us know some of the gems we missed in the comments and here's to the '90s!

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Folklore Sessions returns on the 17th October at The Folklore Rooms for the monthly showcase.

Doors: 19h30 Free Entry