“In recent months, 24-year-old UK guitarist James Blackshaw has burst fully-formed onto the folk underground, his remarkable talents already seeming at peak maturity… Blackshaw has established himself as an instrumentalist of astonishing grace and delicacy, seeming as though he’s gobbled and digested whole the primitive folk canons of Takoma and Vanguard. Relying primarily on 12-string guitar, Blackshaw’s intricate creations web together Robbie Basho’s wayfaring mysticism, Ben Chasny’s soft-focused acid tongues, and the rustic fantas... (+) expand

“In recent months, 24-year-old UK guitarist James Blackshaw has burst fully-formed onto the folk underground, his remarkable talents already seeming at peak maturity… Blackshaw has established himself as an instrumentalist of astonishing grace and delicacy, seeming as though he’s gobbled and digested whole the primitive folk canons of Takoma and Vanguard. Relying primarily on 12-string guitar, Blackshaw’s intricate creations web together Robbie Basho’s wayfaring mysticism, Ben Chasny’s soft-focused acid tongues, and the rustic fantasias of Sandy Bull… Yet as the radiant O True Believers illustrates, Blackshaw is able to differentiate himself through his exotic lyricism, stray pan-ethnic flourishes and pure unmasked virtuosity.” - Pitchforkmedia.com (-) collapse