The Strawbs, “The Ferryman’s Curse” (Cherry Red / Esoteric Antenna)- Vocalist Dave Cousins’ rasping tones have always tended to polarise listeners’ reactions between love and loathing, but this distinctive performer continues to front The Strawbs with power and passion after more than half a century of largely exemplary music-making. “The Ferryman’s Curse” finds the band returning to the fray with some freshly minted new material after an eight year creative hiatus and their collaboration with legendary rock producer Chris Tsangarides has yielded predictably excellent results, with guitarist Dave Lambert in particularly sparkling form on stand-outs such as “The Ten Commandments” and the epic, near nine minutes long title track – By Keven Bryan.