This year really feels like a real banger in terms of fascinating and exciting album releases… I’m sure I say that every year, but that’s no bad thing. It was tricky choosing just ten, but each of the works below have really resonated.
Click on the title to read the full review:
Liam Grant – Prodigal Son (VHF Records)
As soon as the muscular, distorted (the album is all acoustic, but recorded to tape, bringing a burr to the sound) notes of Palmyra kicked in, I knew this was a killer album. Liam seems to be only getting stronger and is one of the most talented artists currently working in the instrumental acoustic guitar genre. Prodigal Son is a hell of a piece of work.
Try: Salmon Tails up the River
Blue Lake – Weft (Tonal Union)
Jason Dungan’s full-length release this year was the also great The Animal, but this ‘mini-album’ pips it for me. A multi-layered, delicate, and intricately woven (much like its cover art) set of gorgeous songs, built on guitar and banjo and played entirely by Jason, except for one full-band piece, this is a shimmering, life-affirming release that I keep revisiting.
Try: Oceans
Seth Lakeman – The Granite Way (Honour Oak Records)
Sometimes only a sturdy, well-written and performed set of folk songs will do, and for his thirteenth(!) studio set, Devonshire darling Seth has dropped a peach. Without overdoing the concept or instrumentation, he and his band have delivered a dynamic and exciting collection of all killer that is his finest in well over a decade.
Try: Roll Back the Years
Rami Atassi & Caleb Willitz – Fits and Starts (Midnight Tea)
Another short album built on layers of sound, this improvised effort from Chicago hotshots Rami Atassi and Caleb Willitz explores the interweaving textures of an effected hollow-body electric guitar and acoustic piano enhanced by synthesiser. The resulting music is glorious; jazz-tinged, patient and almost disarmingly odd in places. I loved this one.
Try: Reptillion
Sally Anne Morgan – Second Circle the Horizon (Thrill Jockey)
Maybe the theme of this list is slightly odd instrumental music, in which case Sally Anne Morgan’s best album so far fits right in. The improvisational style first explored on 2021’s Cups is further developed here and blended with the character of 2023’s Carrying. An album that explores nature and the natural world, this is beautiful and powerful music.
Try: Night Mint
Eric Arn – fixe Idee (Carbon Records / Feeding Tube)
Vienna-based Eric Arn’s follow-up to 2021’s Higher Order is a splendid example of adventurous, daring instrumental acoustic guitar music. Consisting of songs both improvised and composed, fixe Idee is unafraid to give us some weird stuff (Ewigkeitsgasse) and equally happy to allow us to simply enjoy a good tune (Sunrills). An immediate, energised album.
Try: Gutbucket
Robin Adams – The Beggar (Hamework Records)
I reviewed this recently, and it has refused to go away. Scottish performer Adams’ latest is a melancholy masterpiece, with strong songs backed by sympathetic and quietly dynamic music. With echoes of Jason Molina and even Thom Yorke in places, Robin’s delivery is always interesting, and his writing is focused and assured. An excellent set.
Try: Blue Flower Slumber
Leveret – Lost Measures (Leveret)
Strangely, for a fan of improv, I’m a sucker for composed music that is played to the highest level by the best in the game, which pretty much defines this latest (and every) release from folk supergroup Leveret. Lost Measures is a collection born from the unearthing of several dormant tunes, to which the group added their originals. Everything here is ace.
Try: Dutch Skipper
Jens Kuross – Crooked Songs (Woodsist)
We can thank guitarist Hayden Pedigo (whose own I’ll be Waving as you Drive Away is another essential release this year) for this remarkable set, as he begged Jens to make a stripped-back album after being blown away by a live performance. With pretty much just Jens, his electric piano and wonderful songs, all delivered with delicate emotion, this is stunning.
Try: Hymn of Defeat
more eaze & claire rousay – no floor (Thrill Jockey)
This strange and beautiful album is quite unlike anything I have heard before, and it’s managed to nestle its way into my consciousness. no floor veers away from 2022’s never stop texting me and uses sound samples and field recordings along with guitar, pedal steel and violin to weave a magical pattern of bewitching music.
Try: limelight, illegally
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