Reviews
“Tour de force return after decade and a half – a luminous reunion ****”
The Irish Times
“Virtuoso playing abounds … the most creative bodhran player on the planet … superb technique plus a genuine feel and some stonking tunes is a powerful recipe”
MOJO
“Flook’s role and influence in the exploding excellence of instrumental folk music of various persuasions on these islands shouldn’t be underestimated… as vital as ever … Class is indeed permanent”
fRoots
“Ancora finds the fab Anglo-Irish four returning to flex musical muscles with a confidence and elan hard to resist … it serves as a vibrant reminder of just how good this crack quartet are ****”
Songlines
“Wow. Just wow… music to lift you up and make your heart beat faster… Flook, Ancora. If you love music and have a set of functioning ears, get it and go listen. Now. It doesn’t get much better than this, ever.”
celtbritfolkmusic.net
“Ancora picks up where Flook left off with Haven 14 years ago, delighting us, again, with their unique, exciting sound and their ever-inventive arrangements. Expectations more than fully met – simply a brilliant album.”
Folk Radio UK
“Flook have done it again. Their new album Ancora is a fine collection of highly original music – they have the extraordinary knack of making traditional forms sound fresh and contemporary. Considered, intelligent and compelling, their virtuosity and sheer joy at making music shines through in every note”
Ellen Cranitch, RTE Lyric FM
“The anticipation was worth it.
Mysterious, joyful,
A wonder to behold”
Sean Smith, Boston Irish Reporter
“Astonishing… Ancora is the highest peak of their more than twenty year old career”
Michele Mele, Bright Young Folk
“This is certainly an album you should buy, a milestone from an iconic band”
folking.com
“Bursting with energy, colour, and imagination, it bears the Irish-English instrumental quartet’s unmistakable bright stamp… Flook’s arrangements find the sweet spot between spontaneity and craft… The voices of Flook create music that will lift you into the air with its beauty and free spirit.”
Tony Montague, Penguin Eggs
“Flook have delivered another gem… Ancora is an impeccable example of exceptionally expressive, shape-shifting Celtic music craftsmanship”
worldmusiccentral.org
“I listened to this album over the weekend with great delight. So full of lovely music that goes right to the heart of things. Superbly played and arranged, it’s crisp and clear and irresistible”
Sir Michael Palin, March 2019
“opus magnifique”
5planètes
“sublime”
Mark Patterson, BBC Radio Foyle
“a musical feast of intricate melodies and spellbinding rhythms …a much welcome return by a much missed and much loved band”
Tim Readman, Penguin Eggs
“as ingenious as they always have been … incredibly tight and full of virtuosity, passion and skill… always adventurous and unique”
Folkworld
“Flook are back with a bang, and better than ever – a very welcome return from one of folk’s finest bands”
Irish Music Magazine
“…it’s Flook’s absolutely unique combination of sensational musicianship and sensational symbiosis, the rapport and interplay, the astounding precision of phrasing and rhythm, the unfathomable tightness and phenomenal agility, the boldness of their musical flights, and yes, the immense variety concealed within the beauteous intricacy of the traditional-styled yet mostly self-penned tunes they play…. As brilliant, inventive, and tremendously exciting as always, and a rare instance of an all-instrumental album that holds our attention throughout. Music to move and uplift. Again and again. Encore!!”
David Kidman, Fatea
Sarah and Brian talk about making the album and the background to some of the tunes.
FOLK RADIO – Read here:
https://www.folkradio.co.uk/2019/03/flook-ancora-interview
