From folkradio 1 May 2017; Lisa Knapp seems to have a fascination with May: in 2012 she released Hunt The Hare: A Branch Of May.

Accordingly, Till April Is Dead is made up of equal parts darkness and light. It is clear from the first sounds of opener The Night Before May Day that this is not your average folk album. The second track, Till April Is Dead, experiments even further. Staines Morris delves further into the darker and stranger traditions of May Day celebration. Although only brief and to all intents slight, May Garland might be the album’s centrepiece.

Bedfordshire May Day Carol takes a more traditional approach. Don’t You Go A Rushing Maids In May is perhaps the album’s simplest and prettiest song. Pleasant Month Of May, a song from the Copper family of Sussex, takes a similar tack, its raunchy meaning scarcely hidden even before the percussive, ecstatic conclusion. The recordings of birdsong and themes of unity that begin the album’s final song, Padstow May Song, neatly bring the album full circle,