Peasant is Dawson’s most direct, nuanced, and haunting creation yet, a frayed tapestry of a community in peril, where each is left to their own struggles, their own prejudices, their own inflictions of cruelty from a universe that seems designed to rot us from within.
Peasant is a pretty staggering departure from the massed ranks of 2017’s batch of albums. It is a restorative, headstrong burst of inspiration from an artist with the courage to execute his vision without compromise. If ever an album deserved to rise above the fray, it is this one.
If Richard Dawson is Fairport Unconventional, Peasant is his Liege & Lief, a strange but fascinating journey through the frameworks of British folk music as seen by one truly unique set of eyes.
#1 | / | The Quietus |
#2 | / | The Wire |
#3 | / | Loud and Quiet |
#3 | / | Spectrum Culture |
#5 | / | Fopp |
#6 | / | Uncut |
#9 | / | Crack Magazine |
#10 | / | Gigwise |
#10 | / | Norman Records |
#10 | / | The Guardian |