Chris Wood

Handmade Life RUF Records****

"Bardcore", he calls it. Chris Wood, the brains behind both the English Acoustic Collective and the yearly Imagined Village gathering is back with a vengeance.

As he admits, there is no "no honey tongued sonnet" lurking around Handmade Life, but nor does it even come close to the doggerel he suggests it might be. Instead, this is another gravel- coated collection of stories that speak of life poured ordinary. Free of the sentiment that can rack contemporary folk writers, Wood chooses to target his laser-focused lyrics on documenting quotidian human frailties, weaving past and present in between mostly minor chords with characteristic restraint. Handmade Lifeis worth the admission price alone for the minor gem that is Downsized. www.chris woodmusic.co.uk

Download tracks: Spitfires, No Honey Tongued Sonnet