Rectangles

why this is interesting

This collaborative work stands out for its willingness to excavate folk traditions without nostalgia or reverence. Roberts and his circle of musicians examine historical songs and narratives with genuine curiosity, asking what they might reveal about enduring human concerns rather than treating them as artifacts. The arrangements avoid both academic sterility and contemporary prettification, instead letting material breathe in unexpected instrumental combinations. What emerges is a project genuinely interested in dialogue—between past and present, between disparate musical vocabularies, between singer and listener. The result feels conversational rather than authoritative, inviting you to think alongside the music rather than simply receive it. For anyone drawn to folk traditions as living practice rather than museum pieces, this album offers substantive