Birdvox are a kind of supergroup, and on ‘Shamming the Drama’ the quartet may, at any given time, backtrack into traditional Scottish folk, sidestep into pulsing disco beats, and lean into glitchy, blissful electronica. Their debt to traditional music gives their sound a unique edge, but of all the many elements that make Birdvox sound like no other band, that sense of community might be one of the most important.

Martin Simpson shares a finely crafted solo performance of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.” The track also appears on “Some Kind of Jubilee,” his new album marking fifty years since his “Golden Vanity” debut, and is out September 25th on Topic Records, with contributions from Greg Leisz, Zac Hobbs, Liz Hanks, Louis Campbell, and Ben Nicholls.

Jarrett Gilgore and Anthony Pirog’s “Between The Earth and Where” is a fine tributary to this great river of human achievement, compelling in its subtle warmth and discreet lyricism. Pirog’s guitar forms finely latticed patterns for Gilgore’s sensuous blowing; dreamy saxophone flutters and spirals at the edge of consciousness. Two empathetic and exploratory young men playing a delicate, nocturnal blues.

Featuring Ríoghnach Connolly, watch the accompanying video for ‘Curlew Song’, the new single from Clare Sands, taken from her upcoming album ‘They Tried to Bury Us’, out on October 9th. The album is a collection of songs that gives voice to the silenced: from the endangered curlew to those seeking refuge.

Falmouth’s Blind Yeo follow Cornwall’s tradition of wonky inventiveness on “The Lemoine Point,” which surges with baked, euphoric Krautrock riffs and pantheistic ancient worship. Founded by singer/guitarist Will Greenham, the loose collective is based out of The Cornish Bank, the Falmouth venue Greenham co-founded. Blind Yeo are doing more than most to keep Cornwall weird.

On his second album, “Mudlark Ballads”, Dublin singer Macdara Yeates unearths little-known relics of the city’s musical history, his arrangements more confident and varied than on 2024’s “Traditional Singing from Dublin”. His ability to capture the mood of a song is second to none; they are valuable treasures in his hands. 

Bill Nace & Mike Polizze have announced “Live at Pageant : Soloveev”, recorded in 2025, following the release of Mike’s second solo album ‘Around Sound’. Thankfully, Mike captured this taishogoto and guitar face-off on his iPhone, allowing this unhindered exhibition of full-spectrum free string playing in its rawest form to be captured for us all to enjoy.

Le Ren’s “Don’t Be Funny Without Me” is a phenomenally powerful album. The arrangements expand beyond the spareness of her earlier releases, with fiddle, drums and layered harmonies; this is one you will return to again and again.

Emma Lucia and Ship Says Om (Jenny Gillespie Mason) talk us through “Djuphjärtad,” their collaborative four-song EP blending Nordic-rooted folk melodies with ambient experimental textures. Using nature-based field recordings, synths, and organic instrumentation, the Bay Area musicians move between intimate songs of romantic anticipation and elemental sound meditations.

Baby Dee’s “Child of Joy” is her first album in 11 years, reworking songs from her catalogue for accordion. Where piano and harp once carried them, the accordion makes them preciously intimate and impossibly vast. Dee is the great chronicler of everyday miracles, written in alphabets of light — the eye of a poet, the hands of a carpenter.

Nick Jonah Davis’s “Rose Delta Rising,” recorded at Black Bay Studio in the Outer Hebrides, pairs electric guitar with Neal Heppleston’s bass, Joe Danks’ drums and Richard Birkin’s strings. This is a very elegant and accomplished set that feels like a distillation of Nick’s work over the years. Musically adventurous, impeccably recorded and performed, it is his best expression yet. Includes the premiere of the “Spoonbill” video.

The Male Pattern, the project of Queens songwriter, novelist and English professor Will Schwartz, shares “Charlie (The Robbery)” from the forthcoming album “I Was Shot in the Heart!”, out September 25th via Barely Out Recordings. A character-driven narrative ballad featuring Danny Bateman of Frog on piano, it’s darkly funny, clever, and “sneakily beautiful”.

Artist of the Month

Spell Songs – In Thin Air

Featured Albums of the Month

Birdvox – Shamming the Drama

On Heavy Rotation

Arun Sood & Angeline Morrison – Donn Dubh
Black Duck with Elena Setién – Black Duck with Elena Setién
Bonnie "Prince" Billy – Ghosts of American Psychonauts
Alex Dupree – Talking to the Dog
Elanor Moss – The Knife, The Needle
Hana Stretton – Tiarn
Rowena Wise – Bad Things Feel Good*
Blake Hornsby – Brugmansia

Latest Mixtapes & Playlists

More Reviews & Interviews

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use the site you consent to their use. Close and Accept Use of Cookies on KLOF Mag