We Speak Music
Irish Folk-Rock Act Roving Crows Share New Single ‘Dirty Habits 2.ø’
Irish folk-rock act Roving Crows are a band that can play in a way that is both distinctively inspiring and engaging.
The quartet is a powerhouse with their engaging and exciting music. Their energetic and grungy new tune ‘Dirty Habits 2.ø’, is rich and full of driving Celtic influence.
‘Dirty Habits 2.ø’ has a rock feel to it. The melodies are lively, and the lyrics are clever. The folk-rock track includes guitar, fiddle, bass, drums, and vocals on the production showcasing Roving Crows’ effortless musical talents and abilities.
Originally composed for their 2012 debut album Bacchanalia, back then, there was a trumpet player in the band, and the atmosphere was less boisterous and aggressive. The song was a local radio favorite, so Roving Crows decided to give it a makeover and the “new crow” treatment after being joined by a new bass player and drummer in 2019. This version sounds considerably fuller and more edgy, with a more frenetic atmosphere that goes well with the new lineup.
Roving Crows comment on the track, “‘Dirty Habits 2.ø’ is about a night of wild abandon.. that feeling of getting out there, the ensuing chaos that unravels, and the feeling on Sunday of being ‘spent, broke, locked’. But then doing it all again! This song was actually inspired by a previous band member and his ‘leisure’ activities! Performing ‘Dirty Habits 2.ø’ allows us to let out our energy, to be raucous, and just release ourselves into the moment when we’re performing it.”
Barrett and O’Neill founded the band in 2009, and since then they have released four albums: Bacchanalia (2012), Deliberate Distractions (2013), Bury Me Naked (2017), and Awaken (2022). Nick Brine (Ash, Oasis, Bruce Springsteen, Seasick Steve) produced the first two albums at Rockfield Studios, while Loz Shaw produced Bury Me Naked.
A must-see live act, Roving Crows combines furious violin playing, thought-provoking lyrics, and powerful drum and bass sounds with real passion, energy, and soul. They have developed a distinctive and captivating sound that defies the conventions of the Celtic Folk genre, and their energetic live performances never fail to make an audience have a good time.
Members:
Caitlin Barrett – Fiddle/Vocals
Paul O’Neill – Acoustic Guitar/Vocals
Jim Smith – Bass/Vocals
Laurence Aldridge – Drums/Vocals
‘Dirty Habits 2.ø’ is available on all streaming platforms
We Speak Music
Acclaimed US singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd to tour the UK for the first time this summer.
Shortly after releasing her sophomore album in 2007, US-based singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd walked away from music completely for more than 10 years, feeling burned out and unhappy with her career progression like so many other independent artists. After going through a divorce in 2019 and in the midst of a global pandemic, she found herself pulled back toward the siren call of songwriting and again making the leap to pursue it full time. Her latest album ‘Carnival’, released in 2024, is in many ways the culmination of those decisions, and the reintroduction of an artist who now has the wisdom of experience.
There’s an unmistakable urgency you can feel when a song is written and performed from a place of complete honesty. That feeling permeates ‘Carnival’. “I’ve always been envious of writers who say they write songs because they have to, because they had these things they just had to get out of themselves,” Juliet says. “I had never really felt that way until this album. I’ve become someone who writes because they have to.”
Stylistically, ‘Carnival’ draws on a range of influences from Laurel Canyon-era singer/songwriters, to Lilith Fair rockers, to confessional country/folk balladeers, to indie pop. The central theme of the record and that of its title track is not being too precious about any one experience or decision. Take them for what they are, live in the moment, and move on when they’re done. It acknowledges also that memory can be subjective, and ambiguous—was an experience ultimately a good thing or a bad thing? And whose memory can you rely on to determine the answer to that question?
‘Carnival’ doesn’t just deal with the complexities of ending relationships, it also deals with all the feelings that come with moving on. The album’snine songs feature evocative storytelling that reveals a simple truth: when the carnival inevitably leaves town, you’re left with an empty parking lot. And how you remember, it is a choice. As Juliet sings in the title track, “If only there was a way you could bottle up that feeling / and you’d drink it in / when the days are short and you long.”
Across her 20+ year career, Juliet has been admittedly stylistically non-monogamous. Her first full-length album, ‘All Dressed Up’, was released in 2005 and was heavily jazz-influenced- a label that she rejected at the time. “I am a piano player and a woman, so I was immediately compared to Norah Jones—and I bristled at that,” Juliet says. “Listening back now, I can totally see that it was true, and it of course wasn’t a bad thing.” Her follow-up release ‘Leave the Light On,’ came out two years later and featured a slick piano-pop production that led to five of its songs being placed on reality TV shows on MTV and VH1. Coming back after her 10-year break from writing and recording, Juliet released ‘High Road’, a collection of five Americana/soul-tinged songs produced by Jim Ebert (Meredith Brooks, Shai) that earned her widespread recognition and songwriting awards both in her home region of DC as well as nationally.
Now with her first ever UK tour scheduled for July 2025, Juliet has also dropped a completely brand-new single ‘Wild Again’, which like ‘Carnival’, was written with and produced by Todd Wright (Lucy Woodward, Butch Walker, Toby Lightman). ‘Wild Again’, however, charts yet another new step in Juliet’s journey.
“Carnival’, is full of deeply personal songs that are drawn from my real-life experiences and relationships. Coming out of that album cycle, I was feeling a little exhausted by my own navel-gazing and I was craving inspiration elsewhere. So, a lot of the songs I’m writing now are an evolution of sorts – focused more on external stimuli and finding the personal stories and humanity in that. Wild Again is a perfect example of this,” she explains.
The idea for ‘Wild Again’ was born out of a NY Times podcast Juliet listened to about the real-life efforts to return the whale that played Willy in the iconic movie ‘Free Willy’ back into the wild.
“It’s an insane, heartbreaking story that asks all kinds of thorny questions about human responsibility and humility and what’s the “right” thing to do and is that the same as the “kind” thing to do. There was a line that one of the trainers said in the podcast, explaining that they were trying to “train him to be wild again.” The complete absurdity of that statement hit me in the moment, and I immediately started jotting down lyrical ideas”, Juliet says.
Catch Juliet Lloyd on her UK tour this July:
1st July: The Folklore Rooms / Brighton
2nd July: The Hyde Tavern / Winchester
3rd July: Hen and Chicken / Bristol (CRH Music promotions)
4th July: Artisan Tap Hartshill / Stoke-on-Trent
5th July: Waggon & Horses, Nottingham
6th July: Cafe#9 / Sheffield
7th July: Hyde Park Book Club / Leeds
10th July: FortyFive Vinyl Café / York
11th July: The Muddy Puddle / London
13th July: The Wrotham Arms / Broadstairs

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