Here is Part 3 of The Best Folk Music Albums of 2015. Read all favourites posted so far.
The list does not run in any order of merit.
The Best Folk Music Albums of 2015
Steve Tilston – Truth to Tell
Truth To Tell adds up to a great set of songs, sincere and written through Steve’s trademark wit and wisdom. The personal and even autobiographical recollections have a certain joi de vivre, in recounting the heady days of the late 60s and the first nervous steps into the folk scene – no one can now deny Steve Tilston the right to dine at English folk music’s top table.
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Blazin’ Fiddles – North
Blazin’ Fiddles manage to combine everything there is to enjoy in Scottish fiddle music. Gently soothing melodies and the stirring, glorious sound of multiple fiddles in harmony. There are fascinating and wonderful contemporary arrangements of traditional fiddle and pipe tunes from Scotland and beyond. Most of all, though, there’s that infectious, enlivening and irresistible euphoria that comes about from a passion for the music and a longing to share it.
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Seckou Keita – 22 Strings
22 Strings finds Seckou Keita at the top of his game in a never less than compelling collection which draws together many threads: musings on identity, place, history, of music viewed through the lenses of past and present. In the process, Seckou has created an absorbing document of his inner search for answers to some of the essential questions of existence, filtered through his deep respect for tradition while facing the future with an irrepressible positivity.
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Shooglenifty – The Untied Knot
Shooglenifty have been at the top of their game since they took the trad music scene by storm 25 years ago. They continue to whip up a frenzy in performance, and never fail to innovate in the studio. With The Untied Knot they continue to blaze their particular, spectacular trail and give every indication that the journey is set to continue.
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Kyrre Slind – Open Airs
With distinct passages of storm and calm, light and dark, exuberance and reflection; Open Airs can be soothing, deeply meditative or uplifting, depending on the listener’s mood. It’s hard to decide whether Kyrre’s greatest talent lies in his gift for composition, his proficiency as an instrumentalist, or capacity for translating the joy he finds in nature into music. Open Airs exhibits all three in abundance, woven together in a treasure trove of musical delights.
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Boo Hewerdine – Open
His songs often possess a deceptive power, a simple line or phrase of lyric or music that spins the world a little quicker, skips a heartbeat or plunges a sigh from deep within. And so it is with Open, yet another unassuming masterpiece that quietly slips alongside everything Boo has done with its indelible stamp of quality.
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Lucy Ward – I Dreamt I Was A Bird
I Dreamt I Was A Bird is a sterling example of all that is good about contemporary folk music in Britain today and looks set to establish Lucy Ward in her rightful place alongside the scene’s “big names”.
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Songhoy Blues – Music in Exile
What does come across quite strikingly when listening to the album as a whole, is its range, its power – and the sheer love of music which these four young men clearly have. By turns energetic and joyous, tranquil and reflective, Music in Exile looks set to be one of the most well-balanced and optimistic records you’re likely to hear this year.
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Iain Morrison – Eas
With Eas, Morrison joins the uprising of the Gaelic community’s pop-rock ‘fusioneers’, with those such as Niteworks and Macanta leading the way. The album is Morrison’s strongest and most heart-warming to date, an absolute pleasure to listen to.
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Great Lake Swimmers – A Forest of Arms
For their sixth album, A Forest of Arms, The Great Lake Swimmers find their principal songwriter and lead voice, Tony Dekker, at his most potent. The album bristles with some of their strongest tunes and the most dynamic playing that the band have realised so far.
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Gilmore & Roberts – Conflict Tourism
On Conflict Tourism Gilmore and Roberts tackled difficult and painful subject matter ranging from the personal to the international. They step over the border, wade through the battles and emerge unbowed. You should join them.
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Peatbog Faeries – Blackhouse
With almost twenty years since their first release they’ve proven, yet again, that their music, while staying in the same musical vein that keeps live audiences on their feet, they can still move the music forward, provide a fresh approach, and keep that audience coming back time and again.
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Freddie Stevenson – The Darkening / The Brightening
Like panning for gold, Stevenson and his Waterboy producer Mike Scott have pored over the contents of Freddie’s heart, washed away any excess and conjured small but perfectly formed gems from the stuff of life….And how they sparkle.
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Glen Hansard – Didn’t He Ramble
Glen Hansard’s second solo album ‘Didn’t He Ramble‘ finds him in reflective mood, the songs veined with themes of grace under pressure and of support and comfort for the lost.
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Kyle Carey – North Star
Her debut revealed the soft-but-sandy-voiced Carey to be as impressive a storyteller as she is a musician and singer, something confirmed by North Star, her full-length follow-up. As astronomers will know, the North Star is the closest to the north celestial pole, a point by which travellers can chart their course. Musical voyagers should set their compass to Carey’s.
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Malinky – Far Better Days
With sights firmly set on preserving songs of their respective native traditions, the band have struck a perfect balance in retaining authenticity whilst remaining innovative and fresh in their approach to arrangement. This is an album of timeless quality that will call you back time and time again.
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Pete Morton – The Land of Time
With The Land of Time, Pete Morton has created a fine collection of contemporary folk songs which aren’t afraid to face up to some of the more pressing issues of our time with wit, intelligence and nuance. These are rare qualities too often missing from much music today and singer/songwriters like Pete Morton should be valued for their contributions, both as musicians and commentators.
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Phillip Henry & Hannah Martin – Watershed
Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin continue to forge ahead with their third album, Watershed, a moving and very accomplished achievement. One on which they explore the idea of a modern folk tale – drawing on personal experience to create edgier, grittier material whilst retaining an ‘everyman’ empathy.
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Rura – Despite the Dark
With Despite the Dark, Rura have not only produced an album of its time for Scotland, but one with the musical breadth and strength to ensure it will appeal to a far wider audience. It has reinforced my view that Rura is a band growing in stature and confidence and I’m eagerly looking forward to their next steps.
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Sean Taylor – The Only Good Addiction Is Love
The Only Good Addiction Is Love tackles the indefinable, the abstract notions of inspiration and imagination, somehow finding the words, which when set to glorious melody, allow you to make sense of the intangible for yourself. The poet’s gift, the singer’s gift, the guitarist’s gift… Truth in beauty, beauty in truth… It’s all here in perfect balance.
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Robb Johnson & The Irregulars – Here Goes Nothing
This disc is stuffed with standout songs in standout performances – for Robb’s never sung better and his merry band are right there with him! The stunningly direct, positive live feel of the album commands maximum respect, not least for its driven, joyful spontaneity, and, when played at full volume especially, is fabulously resplendent in its punchy detail and all that glory. It really does sound that good!
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Luke Jackson – This Family Tree
Short but perfectly formed, sharply and sympathetically observed and emotionally involving. Further evidence that Jackson is shaping up to become one of the enduring major figures in the world of contemporary folk.
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The Urban Folk Quartet – The Escape
This is the band at their brilliant best and for those that know their UFQ, it’s what they do so very well, only more so. And as the sleeve notes say, “We all have times when we need to escape.” Here’s 42 minutes to do just that, and you can do it over and over again without fear of wearing it out.
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Barrule – Manannan’s Cloak
It’s two years since Manx trio Barrule released their debut album with the declared intention of bringing the music of the Isle of Man to everyone’s attention. Having made a start on conquering the world they’ve now produced a second album that is more varied and even more energetic and appealing than the first.
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Gretchen Peters – Blackbirds
This is without doubt a brilliantly crafted record, earning Grtechen her place amongst a roll call of real singer songwriter greats and there are probably good psychological reasons why we like our singers to report from the shadows, because perversely perhaps, Blackbirds is hugely enjoyable as well.
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