Welcome to Part 2 of our Best Folk Albums of 2018 (read part 1 here). Forgive me for repeating myself here but this for those reading this list for the first time…
The purpose of this list is not just to highlight what I may consider the best but also to share with you a journey through the year. The albums I’ve chosen range from the experimental through to the traditional and in many ways reflects the breadth of what we cover on Folk Radio UK. This is just a small part of a much bigger journey but it’s one I hope you enjoy us sharing with you. The list below does not run to the end of the year, so some of our most recent reviews are not included – I had to stop somewhere and I wanted to get this out to you all before Christmas so be sure to check all our reviews and Featured Albums here. Also, the list does not include live albums, re-issues or compilations.
One last thing…as Editor, I always send albums that I love to our reviewers, so, as far as I’m concerned, the many albums we have reviewed over the past year have already made the cut. OK, that’s enough waffling, here are the next 20 albums in no particular order.
Listen to the accompanying Best Folk Albums of 2018 Spotify Playlist which will grow as we reveal more of this year’s highlights. Plus we have a new Folk Show (details here) featuring a three-hour mix of music from the albums featured on Part 1 and 2 below:
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Best Folk Albums of 2018
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Ben Glover – Shorebound (Proper Records)
Shorebound is the sound of Ben Glover planting one foot firmly in his hometown of Glenarm, Northern Ireland and the other just as firmly in Nashville, Tennessee. The resulting recording is one that oozes confidence and skill. The production is assured, the playing excellent and the singing at points very beautiful. This is a worthy piece of work from a class act.
Brona McVittie – We Are The Wildlife (Company of Corkbots/Autolycus Records)
We Are The Wildlife is an album that wears its Celtic heart firmly on its sleeve, but for all that, it is an outward-looking piece of work, characterised by a deep understanding of natural processes, of travel and of a shared heritage – musical, cultural and geographic – that merits preservation but also explores change. It is a profoundly powerful and quietly ambitious statement and one of the most distinctive debuts you are likely to hear all year.
Emma Tricca – St. Peter (Dell’Orso Records)
She approaches folk music in the same way that Julia Holter approaches classical music: with the intention of bending it to her will, of creating something new on her terms. The constraint of song is simply a frame in which anything can be drawn, and Tricca has the artistic vision to recognise and embrace that. She is one of the most uniquely talented songwriters around, and St. Peter is her best work to date.
Glenn Jones – The Giant Who Ate Himself and Other New Works for 6 & 12 String Guitar (Thrill Jockey)
Towards the end [of the album] is my favourite little melody of the lot, which arrives just under three minutes into ‘Even the Snout and the Tail’ and changes it into a little piece of innocent beauty. It’s another example of the sort of treasures that pop up throughout the running time of this album to bring a smile to the face. Another faultless and hugely enjoyable set, then, from a master storyteller still peaking.
Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage – Awake (Sungrazing Records)
Two years on from their critically adored duo debut, Before The Sun, Hannah Sanders and Ben Savagereturn with an even more accomplished collection that, save for four numbers, are all self-penned. They cover Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key, one of the ‘lost’ Woody Guthrie lyrics brought into the light by Billy Bragg and Wilco on their 1988 Mermaid Avenue album, which, given a softer tone than their delicate version with Hannah’s hushed vocals, shuffling drums, double bass, dobro and acoustic guitar caresses, is unquestionably a highlight on an album of standouts.
Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith – Many A Thousand (Ear Trumpet Music)
Many A Thousand is, despite its many moments of protest and righteous anger, an album full of hope, and this ending – a dawn chorus, the beginning of a bright new day – is the most hopeful part of all. Aldridge and Goldsmith have created a record whose songs are immediate and politically necessary, and whose melodies will remain in the memory for years to come.
John Smith – Hummingbird (Commoner Records)
The pace of Hummingbird doesn’t try to fluctuate too much (perhaps excepting with the lean mean ‘Axe Mountain’), which adds to an overriding sense of assurance that runs through it. The songs feel organically performed and recorded, with no notes chased or pieces laboured over. The result is a work that is unsurprisingly wonderfully played but also understated in almost every way. Hummingbird is Smith’s most impressive album yet, even if it doesn’t want to shout about it. A work of mature and subtle beauty, celebrating songs that are still being sang and ones that will carry on being sang; this album should be heard by everyone.
Kacy & Clayton – The Siren’s Song (New West)
Still in their 20’s, Kacy & Clayton are operating at a point where youth, experience, inspiration, enthusiasm, energy and talent are all combining to work together in the creation of something new and stimulating. The Siren’s Song is both accomplished and fresh, it’s the sound of summer, but there’s still a chill in the air. If, like me, you were always a bit disappointed that Fairport Convention never made another record with Judy Dyble look no further. This is your next favourite album.
Breabach – Frenzy of the Meeting (Self Released)
Frenzy of the Meeting, as a whole, takes the listener on an outing just as fascinating, and rewarding. Among familiar, and well loved, approaches to the music that inspires and drives every member of the band, there are fascinating new soundscapes to explore. Breabachembarked on the journey from Astar to Frenzy of the Meeting with an open mind and a keen desire to explore, listeners who join them are sure to enjoy the results with an ever increasing sense of wonder.
Xylouris White – Mother (Bella Union)
Mother is essentially the work of two very different but oddly complimentary musicians creating a brand of music that is unique and captivating. But while it is easy to focus on just how unusual this album sounds, what shouldn’t be overlooked is the overwhelming and unexpected emotional impact it carries. Mother is that rare thing: experimental music with a huge heart.
Shooglenifty & Dhun Dhora – Written in Water (Shoogle Records)
The last few releases from Shooglenifty have seen them more and more willing to explore their myriad musical connections in the studio; to embrace the art of musicians they’ve encountered around Scotland, and around the world, and to weave those sounds with their own distinctive textures. This collaboration with Dhun Dhora, though, takes that spark of adventure to new levels. 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 home for it in their own home, and to produce such a wonderful celebration of music and life. With Written in Water, Shooglenifty & Dhun Dhora have realised a beautiful dream and produced an album of exciting, intoxicating, exceptional music.
Sharron Kraus – Joy’s Reflection is Sorrow (Sunstone/Nightshade)
There are many factors that make Joy’s Reflection Is Sorrow a wonderful album. The musicianship is great (the woodwind and violin of Jenny Bliss Bennett is a particular treat), Kraus’s voice has found a new confidence and the rolled-back arrangements and production allow the songs room to breathe and speak. But perhaps the most important thing, in a world in which instant gratification and long-term despair are increasingly held up as the only options, is the sense of a lasting optimism that goes beyond the span of a human life, that perhaps even defines the nature of human life. Kraus may not be able to answer those big questions – maybe they are unanswerable – but she has found the best possible way to ask them.
Ross Ainslie & Ali Hutton – Symbiosis II (Self Released)
One of the big questions for fans of Ross & Ali has undoubtedly been how they would follow up on the grace and beauty of Symbiosis, an album that drew on instinct as much as craft. There was a hint of what’s to come in the earlier album’s closing minutes – a shadow of something new and ever so slightly wild. The same sense of commitment and unity shines in Symbiosis II, but the sequel sees Ross & Ali take an entirely different approach. Taking their accomplished blend of acoustic and electronic on ever more intoxicating adventures, 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.
The Rheingans Sisters – Bright Field (Rootbeat Records)
Bright Field is not your average album. The Rheingans Sisters’ musicianship has always had a special, almost alchemical force to it. Now their powers of songwriting and arranging have reached a new peak; they have become one of the most formidably talented duos around. In Bright Field, they have created an album bursting with worldly joys and shot through with intimate sorrow and wisdom.
Rachael McShane & The Cartographers – When All Is Still (Topic Records)
When All Is Still may be an album with its roots in tradition, but it has a freshness – sometimes bright and brittle, sometimes earthy and rambunctious – that makes these old songs seem wonderfully new. That freshness comes primarily from McShane’s singing. She is one of the finest vocalists in folk music today, and she has created a work of art which is remarkable for its clarity. It is one of the best collections of traditional songs you’ll hear all year.
Northern Flyway – Northern Flyway (Hudson Records)
With captivating music and song, fascinating snatches of interview, and immersive soundscapes, Northern Flyway takes us on a journey through our own relationship with birds, their environments, their movements – all ultimately linked to our own, and to our own mythology, our politics, our identities. Perhaps most importantly, to the hopes and dreams that have defined humanity since we first looked to the skies.
Catrin Finch & Seckou Keita – SOAR (bendigedig)
This ingenious duo have let fly with their second set and released a remarkable album of such texture and prowess that at points its scope, concentrated into the workings of two masters of their instruments, takes the breath away. The pacing, structure, packaging and context, including inspired liner notes from Andy Morgan, is all impeccable and it all combines to result in a truly inspired, beautifully conceived project.
Daniel Bachman – The Morning Star (Three Lobed Recordings)
The Morning Star seems like a giant leap forward into the experimental mind of Bachman. It’s an album with a sharp tongue and among the beauty that shines through is plenty of unrest, unease and anger. It makes for powerful and original music and ends on a finale that will probably blow your mind.
Faeland – All My Swim (Green Sage Records)
There’s movement throughout this album, like a sleepy current with latent power that comes into its own as the river narrows. Full of songs you long to return to – because there’s certain to be a gorgeous detail that passed you by on the first listen. Throughout, Faeland exhibit a soft, measured assurance in the performances and a rich, inviting warmth in the production. All My Swim is a debut that does far more than impress, it delights.
Gillebrìde MacMillan: Freumhan Falaichte (Hidden Roots) (Dealas)
This is an enormously significant album in the Scottish folk scene and for Gaelic music. The writing is poignant, direct and relevant and the music inventive passionate and appropriate. The singing is powerful but sensitive and the production faultless. In these days of streaming and downloads, it’s easy to listen to music as a disposable commodity but whilst I hope anyone would enjoy this album for the music alone, the lyric book is highly recommended for non-Gaelic speakers. Please seek it out and enjoy it.