Fletcher Tucker – Kin (Gnome Life Records)
Fletcher Tucker explores a complex form of “cosmic ambient Americana” on Kin, an album deeply rooted in the ritualistic landscapes of Big Sur. Utilising Swedish bagpipes, zither, and field recordings, Tucker crafts a sound concerned with the primacy of breath, evident in the respiration-mimicking structure of A Candle.
Collaborators, including Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie) and Chuck Johnson, contribute to this unique sonic tapestry. From the Eastern religious chimes of Born Back Into the Earth to the free-jazz drums and chanting on the closing To Light a Fire, the album feels like an ancient, earthy ceremony. Kin is a singular work—meditative, uncanny, and profound—that connects the listener to the very idea of landscape and the “ancientness and weirdness” it holds.
Erlend Apneseth Trio: Black Hauge – Black Hauge (Sheep Chase Records)
Black Hauge is a collaboration between the Erlend Apneseth Trio and writer Erlend O. Nødtvedt, which audaciously fuses experimental Norwegian folk with the poetry of Olav H. Hauge. The project takes the late poet’s recitations and subjects them to playful, uncanny processing, embodying the idea that old art can shift and thrive under pressure.
The album is a fusion of avant-garde folk and plunderphonics. On Draumen, the Trio’s skittering Hardanger fiddle and synths trade with warped, backwards-sounding spoken samples, creating a kind of “alien song.” The longest track morphs dramatically from an Arvo Pärt-esque chant into a crushing, black metal-channelling finale. By allowing Hauge’s voice to slip and stutter on Vegan, the music movingly brings to life the nostalgia and loss of a fading way of life. “Erlend Apneseth Trio and Erlend O. Nødtvedt have created a stunningly original album that combines elements rarely seen together. Black Hauge may be made of old stones, but they are varied and valuable ones nonetheless, and they have certainly been well laid.”
Tartine de Clous – Compter Les Dents (Okraina)
French trio Tartine de Clous continues their exploration of traditional song on Compter Les Dents, released by the impeccable Okraina Records. Recorded around a kitchen table in the home of folk stalwarts Claude and Lou Flagel, these songs—discovered in an old shoebox from the Vendée region—capture the intimate spirit of a veillée (vigil), where music is shared as a daily necessity rather than a performance.
While their three-part harmonies remain the centrepiece, weaving delicately on Si j’etais Hirondelle, the album introduces a richer sonic palette than previous releases. Collaborators include the late Jean-Loup Baly (Mélusine) on accordion and Marceau Portron on guitar. Balancing conviviality with melancholy, Compter Les Dents is a beguiling, human document that feels as habitual and essential as breathing.
more eaze & claire rousay – no floor (Thrill Jockey)
Texan experimentalists claire rousay and more eaze (Mari Maurice) veer away from the autotuned pop of never stop texting me for the collage-based instrumentals of no floor. While conceptually closer to their 2020 debut, this record eschews found sound for a more musical focus, filtering Americana through an abstract lens of swirling pedal steel, slow guitar, and electronic glitches.
Tracks like limelight, illegally blend delicate guitar and humid pedal steel with barely audible “remembered sounds.” The duo explores vast emotional terrain within single tracks; lowcountry moves from ghost-world glitches to urgent plucked strings, evoking the stark landscapes of Allen Karpinski. Lean, organic, and impeccably crafted, no floor is a bold, constantly surprising collaboration that uses the collage form to its full, moving potential.
Emily A. Sprague – Cloud Time (RVNG Intl.)
Modular synthesist Emily A. Sprague returns with Cloud Time, an album of profound, meditative calm that solidifies her place in the ambient sphere. Continuing the organic, nature-inspired synthesis of her acclaimed Hill, Flower, Fog, Sprague crafts music that is spacious and seemingly effortless, designed for quiet contemplation.
The album is defined by its soft, shifting texture—analog synthesizers breathe and swell like the natural phenomena referenced in the title. Tracks like Sky Will Still Be There and the immersive In a Cloud use gentle arpeggios and warm pads to evoke the feeling of slow, inexorable movement. This is restorative, deeply personal work that encourages the listener to slow down and find peace in the quiet moments. Sprague proves that some of the deepest listening experiences come from music that is the most gently rendered.
Satomimagae – Taba (RVNG Intl. / Plancha)
Satomi Magae ventures deeper into misty borderlands on Taba, marrying the dreamlike minimalism of her previous work with organic, folk-tinged arrangements. Evoking the liminal beauty of Grouper, she layers field recordings and fuzzy melodies to create a soundscape that exists on the edge of sleep—fleeting, visual, and wondrous.
Songs like the two-minute Tonbo challenge traditional structure, feeling entirely complete despite their brevity. Magae uses acoustic guitar as a “base coat of paint,” allowing tracks like Wakaranai and the hypnotic Many to warp and shift in disconcerting yet meditative ways. Whether channelling the shimmering vocals of Liz Fraser on Ghost or the acid-folk surprise of Horo Horo, Taba is a strange miracle—a work of clarity and haze that speaks a unique, rewarding musical language.
Nadia Reid – Enter Now Brightness (Chrysalis Records)
Nadia Reid’s fourth album, Enter Now Brightness, marks the definitive arrival of an artist fully assured in her craft. Influenced by a move from New Zealand to Manchester and the birth of her two children, Reid shifts from sparse acoustic arrangements to a vibrant, full-band sound produced by Tom Healy. The album radiates a “piercing optimism,” capturing the feeling of life beginning anew.
Tracks like Changed Unchained shimmer with electric energy and synths, while Cry On Cue anchors her commanding vocals with pounding, Elton John-esque piano chords. From the epic intensity of Baby Bright to the generational reflection of the closer Send It Down The Line, Reid marries deep emotion with luscious, expansive production. Unfettered and confident, this is a record of joy and reflection that demands to be heard.
Natural Information Society and Bitchin Bajas – Totality
Chicago sonic explorers Natural Information Society and Bitchin Bajas reunite for Totality, a second collaborative album that epitomises the city’s unique independent music spirit. The seven-piece ensemble features Natural Information Society, made up of Joshua Abrams on double bass, harmonium player Lisa Alvarado, drummer Mikel Patrick Avery and recent addition Jason Stein; then Bitchin Bajas, a trio consisting of Cave frontman/organist Cooper Crain, Rob Frye on flute and synth and electronics mastermind Daniel Quinlivan on bass clarinet. Together, they masterfully fuse Reichian minimalism, krautrock, and meditative spiritual jazz.
Despite the septet’s size, the music maintains immense space, avoiding “overstuffed maximalism.” Tracks range from the creeping, Eastern-textured rhythm of Nothing Does Not Show to the title track, a sprawling jam that lures the listener into a trance-like state with synth hums and percussive clatter. The final piece, Clock no Clock, offers a groovy, space-rock freak-out. Totality is an essential piece of work, providing the fullest, most singular rendering of this Chicago magic.
Robin Adams – The Beggar (Hamework Records)
Scottish singer-songwriter Robin Adams crafts a stark, elegiac mood on his sixth album, The Beggar. Originating as demos written during a four-year period of housebound isolation, these nine songs have been fleshed out by a full band, including the subtle bowed notes of Juliette Lemoine’s cello and Emma Pantel Bowden’s violin.
The music is deeply considered, with Adams’ fingerpicked acoustic guitar often sitting muted behind the foreboding presence of David Bowden‘s bass and Stephen Henderson’s percussion. Tracks like Lost echo the stark beauty of Songs: Ohia, while the ominous Ride On expertly builds tension from a simple whistle of wind. With a lean, half-hour runtime, The Beggar is an exceptional work of profound depth, balancing world-weariness with the quiet strength of love.
Seán Mac Erlaine & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh – Old Segotia (Ergodos)
Clarinettist Seán Mac Erlaine and fiddler Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh deepen their rapport on Old Segotia, creating an intimate and fiercely experimental album that transcends their roles in the quartet This Is How We Fly. Eschewing compromise, the duo forges a new sonic palette where traditional Irish folk and avant-garde jazz speak a singular language.
The eleven tracks are admirably varied: Jeu de Plomb opens with impressionistic fiddle and jittery percussion, while Reverse Burst settles into a smoky, noirish groove, aided by melodic keys and Ó Raghallaigh’s Hardanger d’amore. They freely augment their instruments with electronics, lending Shallow Dive an itchy, IDM-like intro. From the tension of Foremostly to the birdsong lyricism of the closer, Old Segotia is a complex and endlessly surprising map of new musical terrain.