Having shared our Top 100 Albums of 2018, it’s time for a few select Top 10 albums of the year from some of our Feature writers (an even harder task). Click on the album title to read the full review.
Neil Mcfadyen’s Top 10 Albums Of 2018
I knew that deciding which new releases from 2018 to select as my top 10 wasn’t going to be easy, it never is.
I feel lucky to have the opportunity to listen to and comment on work that someone has put their heart, soul, and usually hard-earned cash, into creating. To arbitrarily say that a certain 10 of the albums I’ve reviewed this year are more deserving of praise does the others a disservice. I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed every album I’ve reviewed this year and that anyone who has the talent, skill and patience needed to produce music of the quality I’ve witnessed deserves far more recognition than I can provide here.
Still, though, a Top Ten there must be. Below is a list, in chronological order, of the 10 albums that have had the strongest impact on me in the last year. Each one is a gem – and there are far more gems out there to enjoy. Just look back through this site over the last year for the proof.
Ross released Sanctuary in December 2017, but I was a bit late to the party on this one and it didn’t make last year’s Top Ten – it should have. Sanctuary is an album that’s best enjoyed as a single journey, a rich wash of sound and rhythm with some very special guests, Andrea Gobbi’s expansive production and, of course, Ross Ainslie’s peerless skill as a composer.
“In many ways, Sanctuary sounds like the album Ross Ainslie has always wanted to make. The collaborations, especially with Zakir Hussain and Greg Lawson; embracing the creative process in a new, clearer, light. The instruction ‘no skipping tracks!’ on the CD is superfluous – you wouldn’t want to miss a single second.”
Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton – Symbiosis II
And purely by coincidence… Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton have been playing music together since they were twelve years old, and that bond shines in the follow-up to their 2016 duet album, Symbiosis. Symbiosis II feels like a natural progression, although an entirely different album. The hint of something wild that was a quiet undercurrent in the graceful Symbiosis is brought to the surface in an album that shifts between soft splendour and spirited spectacle.
“Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton have yet again proven themselves to be not only masters of Scottish traditional music, but at the very forefront of the movement that continues to breathe new life into that music, inspiring the next generation. Symbiosis was beguiling, Symbiosis II is utterly hypnotic.”
Equally at home in the trad Irish music scene, as he is among New York’s community of singer/song writers, Eamon O’Leary’s hypnotic voice and contemplative poetry make All Souls a seductive album. “For anyone familiar with Eamon’s debut solo album from 2013, Old Clump, the honest simplicity of the music will feel like the welcome return of an old friend”. All souls is one of those albums you fall for immediately.
Mike Vass – Notes From The Boat
I never tire of Mike’s inventiveness, his explorative compositions, and his ability to draw on the skills and influences of his peers with honesty and generosity. Notes From The Boat was recorded on his sailing boat, which doubles as his living space and his studio, before sailing off to the Canary Islands. Various guests dropped through the hatch to record an utterly delightful album.
“Throughout the album there are the small signature touches that help make Mike Vass’ music so special – ethereal keys and a snatch of sampled, spoken, vocal; a rusting thumb piano; or even Sweet Harmony’s hydrovane sail creating a wind-powered bass drum.”
I’m delighted there was a CD companion to this live audio/visual project – it allows me to include Northern Flyway in my top ten. Conceived, written and performed by Jennie Sturgeon and Inge Thomson; with Magnus Robb, Sarah Hayes and Jason Singh in the studio and on stage for this enthralling multi-dimensional exploration of birdsong, ecology, and folklore. Birdsong on accordion, a curlew love song, and immersive soundscapes combine in musical manifestations of our own longing for the freedom of the skies.
The Breath – Let The Cards Fall
The second album from Manchester-based duo Stuart McCallum and Ríoghnach Connolly is a collection of songs that developed, more or less, as they were recorded. The warm elegance of their 2016 debut, Carry Your Kin, has evolved into a collection of superbly crafted songs that draw their inspiration from tradition and history, and wield a power that’s rarely found in contemporary music.
“Once again, The Breath have the power to ensnare you, and you’ll be able to think of nothing else. You have been warned.” Still under the spell, here.
Shooglenifty & Dhun Dhora – Written in Water
Joining their friends from the famous Jodhpur RIFF Festival, and recorded at the ancient Mehrangarh Fort in Rajasthan, Shoolgenifty embarked on a project that was postponed when the late Angus R Grant became ill. Opening with a treasured ad-hoc recording of Angus and Dayam Khan at Mehrangarh, Written In Water flowered to a mutual musical exploration, combining Rajasthani and Scottish tradition with Shoogle grooves and Gaelic song.
“Travelling 4,000 miles to blend so perfectly with a musical tradition where the structure, the approach, even the tuning is so different from the comfort of their own music is as impressive as Dhun Dhora’s ability to embrace this music from a different shore, to make a home for it in their own home, and to produce such a wonderful celebration of music and life.”
Lisa O’Neill – Heard a Long Gone Song
Dublin performer Lisa O’ Neill (originally from Ballyhaise, County Cavan) has always referenced traditional influences in her music. For her fourth album, though, Lisa clearly immersed herself, heart and soul, in those influences. Heard a Long Gone Song is a collection of self-written and traditional songs where the lines between traditional and contemporary folk aren’t just blurred, they’re completely erased. The album’s coarse exterior, with the elemental vitality of Lisa’s voice, fascinates just as much as her captivating poetry. A gritty, passionate, beautiful album.
“If Nick Cave had followed the folk tradition instead of falling for the charms of Rock and Roll, he may well have aspired to create something akin to what Lisa O’Neill has with Heard a Long Gone Song… an exceptional album that will make the trad music scene stand up and take notice; if it doesn’t, there’s something far wrong with the trad music scene.”
Afro Celt Sound System – Flight
Following Afro Celt Sound System’s triumphant return to the studio in 2016, with The Source, this open and far reaching collective seem to go from strength to strength. Flight sees them take a more conceptual approach to their music, and embrace an even wider array of performers. Flight draws parallels between the migratory flight of birds and human flight – from war, poverty and oppression. The album’s fascinating central suite, Migration Medley is a fascinating combination of the voices of the oppressed with ancient Celtic voices.
“On one hand we have the classic, enthralling multi-cultural joy of Afro Celts Sound System in full flow, on the other we have a thought-provoking series of live studio performances that are as engaging as they are contemplative.”
Brian Ó hEadhra & Fiona Mackenzie – TÌR: Highland Life & Lore
The Highland music scene is blessed with a great many composers and musicians whose vision and talent have made significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the region, and the country as a whole. For over two decades Brian Ó hEadhra & Fiona Mackenzie have been at the heart of that movement. TÌR: Highland Life & Lore is their first album as a duet; an album that references folklore, migration, land reform and our natural environment. The rich soundscape created by the duo and producer Mike Vass seems just as perfectly suited to film and television production as does to immersive listening.
“…destined to become a classic of contemporary folk music. TÌR – Highland Life & Lore is an inspired, beautiful album.”