Footprints Through The Snow is an elegant and sweet natured album that takes a Conor Oberst / Elliott Smith drift through tales of heartbreak and poignantly hopeful woe. Every so often it teeters in the direction of the Valley of the Twee, and with Belle & Sebastian currently lost on the spaceship T-Rex, there’s room for Ant in the valley. Ant’s voice is sweet, the songs are coy and charming, full of plaintive violin, wheezing harmonium, twinkly keyboards and strummed guitar, but none of this threatens to set the world on fire. It’s good, of its kind - there’s a lot of wistful daydreaming, and nowhere does anyone repeatedly sing “You’re beautiful...” in a constipated yelp. By track 9, though, it begins to outstay its welcome. There’s no real change in pace or melody, and nothing much to make you sit and listen right the way through. Thirteen tracks of much of a muchness, as pleasant as that muchness is, is a little bit too much. There’s not much else to say, really, so here are some reference points: Magnet, Gravenhurst, Bright Eyes, Aberfeldy and The Magic Numbers. He’s Swedish, by the way, and he recorded this album in Italy. On track 8, he sings about London and the Isle of Wight.

'Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant', their 4th album on Matador Records, opts for a subtle, intimate palette that reveals its charms only in its own sweet time.

滚石音乐(Rolling Stone Magazine )史上最佳Top 500 Albums之004#

Groupies：【名词】 1.狂热分子 ,泛指跟着摇滚乐团到处巡回，疯狂追逐偶像的小歌迷； 2. 陈绮贞为第三张专辑《吉他手》取的英文名字。 在台下听的吉他手陈绮贞 vs Groupies 学生时代的陈绮贞，经常翘课去听演唱会。这样的习惯一直维持到现在，去年杨乃文演唱会、今年伍佰与China Blue演唱会，陈绮贞都到场，在演唱会中变回小歌迷。她不只看台上的演出，也观察台下的歌迷，以新歌《吉他手》写出小歌迷想要引起偶像注意，在短短一秒的视线交错中投注了所有期待的心情。那种Groupies式冲锋陷阵，义无反顾的热情，也是最狂热的爱情形式——爱情是一场演唱会，每个人都是里面的疯狂小歌迷。 在台上唱的吉他手陈绮贞 vs Groupies 在台上演出时，陈绮贞也有属于她的Groupies。许多陈绮贞的歌迷几乎出席她每一次现场表演。陈绮贞在现场演唱的新歌，往往正式发片前就已经有歌迷在网络上讨论。去年她出了第一本由摄影与诗构成的创作书后，也有歌迷在网上号召摄影展。陈绮贞的歌迷也许不疯狂追星，却以别有个性的方式支持着他们的偶像。 比起其它非发片期销声匿迹的歌手，陈绮贞从出道前开始，一直保持定期举行小型现场演唱。对她而言，现场表演形式有不可取代的魅力。最早是学生时代到垦丁边玩边唱，唱完了搬出一箱自己压的CD来卖。出道前第一次在女巫店表演，听众还坐不满三桌。短短几年内，陈绮贞累积了相当多死忠歌迷。每次演唱总让女巫店人气爆满。两年前第一场个人演唱会（2000年“温室花朵”演唱会），门票短短一周内销售一空。 对坚持现场表演的陈绮贞而言，演唱不只发生在电视上，音乐也不只存在于宣传期。即使唱片销售很好，她还是那个在垦丁海边,拿着一把吉他自弹自唱自卖CD，直接面对听众的陈绮贞。她的音乐更接近面对面的沟通。专辑《吉他手》取英文名为“Groupies”，也可以说是向陪她一路走来的歌迷们最直接的感谢吧。