On the cover of Wasteland, Jim Ghedi sits at what looks like a quarry in a tattered outfit of a battered and bruised but not quite totally beaten dandy from a few centuries ago, the red glow of the background suggesting we may well be in hell’s waiting room. The starkly brutal surroundings and apocalyptic undertow proves a perfect match to the Sheffield-based folk guitarist’s fourth solo album (sixth if you count two excellent sets of guitar instrumentals as a duo with Toby Hay, whose 2018 solo album The Longest Day is an unsung gem).
There’s often solid reasons to be skeptical when an artist embarks on a bold departure from their usual musical habitat. Widescreen and epic in intent yet deeply personal and intimate in execution, brutal and bleak in its themes but ultimately…