It’s been a difficult and intensely frustrating year, one in which the whole world seems to have gone quite mad. So, more than ever, music has proved the ideal sanity-clause (if not a complete antidote), and I’ve made a number of significant musical discoveries during the course of the year. In that context, then, my choice of Top Ten Albums of 2019 (all reviewed here on FRUK) may appear unsurprising, even perhaps less than adventurous. However, in the end, hard decisions have had to be made, and so I’ve come down in favour of those albums which have proved the most stimulating and rewarding over time and/or made the most lasting impression. They are not ranked in any particular order, just alphabetically for convenience; but all are united by their integrity and original thought as much as their pure musicianship (although inevitably, many equally worthwhile albums have had to be eliminated from this very-short-list).
Belinda Kempster & Fran Foote – On Clay Hill
At long last, a chance to hear preserved on record the established singing partnership of Stick In The Wheel’s Fran Foote and her mother Belinda Kempster, documenting the traditional songs of their family and the region of Essex from which they hail. The ageless songs provide the conduit through which flows the mesmerising, eerily exact natural conjoining of blood relations’ complementary voices. Robust and edgy, fondly poised and compellingly expressive, this is the real deal.
Bird In The Belly – Neighbours And Sisters
A work of strange beauty and startling innovation from an inspired teaming of four empathic talents. The collective’s work forms a fascinating bridge between our own alt-folk age and the song-collecting activities of the 1960s folk revivalists, as viewed through the lens of the early practitioners of acid-folk – and with a comparable sense of discovery. Genuinely inventive instrumental arrangements mirror the voices’ stark yet accommodating blend of ancient and modern: a stunning illustration of their beguiling, original and visionary take on folk.
An intimately conceived collection of traditional and newly-composed songs performed by (various permutations of) four singers (Frankie Armstrong, Debbie Armour, Alasdair Roberts and Ben Webb) all well versed in experimental folk collaboration but each uniquely different in vocal character. Challenging preconceptions with a sequence of stunning a cappella performances, it succeeds royally in harnessing the too-often-unappreciated sheer power of unaccompanied song, thereby restoring the voice to its rightful place at the epicentre of folk storytelling.
Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings – Rose In June
Rose in June is the album that Jon and his Remnant Kings have been honing over the past few years through their sensational live shows: at once highly polished and accomplished and full of spontaneity in both invention and execution. An inspirational bandleader as well as master musician and singer in his own right, Jon commands maximum respect from his peer-collaborators, with whom his strong mutual bond achieves and maintains a stimulating balance between the staunch preservation of folk tradition and its imaginative reinterpretation for our age.
Josienne Clarke – In All Weather
Josienne’s personal response to a crisis period in her life was to produce this landmark collection of original songs as testament to her resilience. Each song is striking in its structural and lyrical economy, with a pared-down conciseness of expression that both conceals and reflects considerable depths of mature experiential insight. Josienne’s voice conveys these meditations with pinpoint precision and a dark beauty that’s as heartrending as it can be soothing. A clear-sighted and profoundly genuine artistic statement.
Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening – Hollowbone
A brave and exciting new offering from an artist noted for her innovative approach to the traditional music of her native Northumbria. Here Kathryn’s creative musical personality acts as a conduit for channelling the voices of tradition, weaving contemporary resonances into the ancient songs and tunes. In consort with her latest working band, she explores an intriguing range of often complex, integrated instrumental and vocal textures. A spellbinding and seriously visionary album with a unique slant on connecting the past with the present and the future.
The award-winning, iconoclastic Dublin four-piece reclaim the true meaning of the word “awesome” with their monumental and unashamedly challenging take on deepest tradition that taps into our darkest ancestral terrors and drags us forward out of the abyss of empty retreads of traditional song. Seriously scary yet often uncannily sensual, Lankum immerse the listener in a heady, uncompromising soundscape whose momentum is the majestic ancient pulse of the ages.
The final instalment in Reg’s trilogy of pared-down voice-and-one-instrument albums brings a further fresh collection of brilliantly crafted songs that evidence his all-encompassing passion for humanity, whether in simply and directly communicating the plight of ordinary people or through hard-hitting political commentary and allegory. Contemporary folk songwriting at its finest, from a proven master.
Sara Grey & Kieron Means – Better Days A-Comin’
Mother-and-son partnership Sara and Kieron bring a joyous warmth and an intimate sense of companionship to their singing and playing on their latest collection of transatlantic songs and ballads. Powerfully demonstrating their commitment to a life-mission of embracing, researching and carrying on the tradition, this is a wonderfully heartfelt statement of Sara and Kieron’s unalloyed love for the old songs and tunes.
Topette!! audibly gain extreme pleasure from their thoughtful music-making, and this experience extends rapidly and readily to their listeners, with the end result that Rhododendron is one of those rare all-instrumental, entirely dance-oriented records that give cerebral and visceral satisfaction in roughly equal proportions.