The Destroyers - Argonaut (2025) Hi-Res

Turning to another storied band, The Destroyers have released “Argonaut” to celebrate twenty years of playing folk clubs and festivals across the UK. The Destroyers originated in Birmingham and are part of the “big band” folk movement – think Blowzabella or Bellowhead – and like all successful contributors to that strand of folk, they have their own unique sound: a blend of Eastern European folk, Balkan brass and a vigorous rhythm section. The album was recorded live, with the aim of capturing the spirit of a gig, and it does this magnificently – there’s a chaotic passion coupled with a studio-crisp sound. Traditional – or traditionally sounding – tunes are coupled to wildly non-traditional lyrics: ‘Captain Borglet‘ tells the tale of an inter-dimensional travelling rat adventurer, whilst ‘The Wave‘ is an intense exploration of a holiday beach being swept clean by the sea that nudges into a wild drone scape reminiscent of space rock, whilst never abandoning its folk music roots.

If the album has a weakness, it is that there are many occasions when the music invites the listener to swirl wildly in a circle dance, abandoning reason to the physical experience, and yet doesn’t provide the requisite dozen or so people necessary to fulfil that invitation.