Quinie – Forefowk, Mind Me (Upset The Rhythm)
Glasgow-based singer Quinie (Josie Vallely) challenges folk orthodoxy on Forefowk, Mind Me, her third and most natural-sounding solo release. Rooted in the Scottish avant-trad scene, the album draws deep inspiration from mid-20th-century singers like Lizzie Higgins, rejecting modern virtuosity for a deliberately sparse, communal aesthetic.
The results are thrilling and unique. On the uncompromising opener Col My Love, Quinie mimics the drone and melody of Harry Górski-Brown’s bagpipes using the ancient canntaireachd vocal technique. Elsewhere, she channels pure human joy on the playful Macaphee Turn the Cattle and stripped-back emotion on the unaccompanied Bonnie Udny. Whether blending Irish and Scottish heritage or improvising on Health, Wealth A Yer Days, Quinie creates a “gloriously free” sound that feels unapologetically present.
Ian Humberstone – Midsummer Tideline (DVRC)
Edinburgh-based musician and ethnographer Ian Humberstone channels his PhD research on Shetland’s ritual language into Midsummer Tideline. Written during his studies in the UK’s northernmost reaches, the album synthesises his experimental background with an accessible, “folk-pop” singer-songwriter approach that feels surprisingly sociable.
Far from academic austerity, Humberstone delivers warm, camaraderie-filled tracks like the propulsive opener Over and Over. His conversational, gruff vocals—haunted by hints of Leonard Cohen or Bill Callahan—are beautifully offset by the pillowy backing vocals of Sarah Hayes and Emily Scott. Whether exploring the visceral seascape of The Sea Cave or the linguistic magic of Granderi (Shetlandic for witchcraft), Humberstone captures the landscape’s enchantment with sincerity and wonder. Midsummer Tideline is an enveloping work that finds warmth in the wild.
Dylan Golden Aycock – No New Summers (Feeding Tube/Worried Songs)
Tulsa-born fingerstylist and Scissor Tail Records founder Dylan Golden Aycock pushes the boundaries of American Primitive on No New Summers. Recorded over a span of twelve years, the album defies the genre’s traditional rulebook, offering a “probing, mercurial” exploration of ageing and fading novelty.
The stylistic range is vast. No Spring Chicken fires out of the gate with rapid, Fahey-esque acoustic picking, while Buoyant weaves bowed upright bass and field recordings into a strange, industrial tapestry. Aycock frequently transforms his instrumentation; on Unanchored, processed pedal steel mimics an orchestra, contrasting the hazy, dreamy beauty of Good Directions. Anchored by the hypnotic, reverb-heavy electric title track, No New Summers is a daring, genre-expanding “goddamn trip” that demands close listening.
Mike Polizze – Around Sound (Paradise of Bachelors)
Mike Polizze trades the ear-splitting volume of Purling Hiss for domestic intimacy on Around Sound. Influenced by new fatherhood and a move to small-town life, this sophomore solo effort sees Polizze fully committing to acoustic exploration. Yet, the energy remains distinct; he applies the fluidity of his electric past to a “celestial, dreamy mirage” of sound.
The album anchors itself on the five-minute centrepiece Wake Up, a hazy morning invocation that hovers before taking flight. Despite playing every instrument himself, Polizze—aided by co-producer Jeff Zeigler—constructs tracks like the raga-infused Fast Blues and the progressive You’ve Been Doing Fine with a spontaneous, organic band feel. Far from a mere hippy flowering, Around Sound is a deep, carefully built record that proves Polizze’s virtuosity shines just as brightly when unplugged.
Jeffrey Lewis – The EVEN MORE Freewheelin’ (Blang Records/Don Giovanni)
Jeffrey Lewis, the standard-bearer for NYC anti-folk, returns with The EVEN MORE Freewheelin’, an album that cheekily nods to Bob Dylan while cementing Lewis’s status as one of his generation’s sharpest lyricists. Combining clever wordplay with brash honesty, Lewis navigates maturity without losing his anarchic edge.
Tracks like DCB & ARS offer a tender, fictionalised friendship between David Berman and writer Amy Rose Spiegel, while the self-deprecating Do What Comes Natural delivers throwaway nihilism with trademark charm. Musically, Lewis expands his palette: Tylenol PM channels medicated Velvet Underground vibes, and Relaxation is a fuzzed-out garage rocker. But the heart of the record lies in Inger, a moving character study on grief and independence. Funny, literate, and heartbreaking, this is Lewis at his absolute best—an enduring talent deserving of serious recognition.
Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson, Sam Wilkes – Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes (International Anthem)
Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson, and Sam Wilkes unite for a self-titled album that proves masterful improvisation needn’t be sprawling. Blending live recordings from LA’s now-defunct ETA venue with home studio sessions, the trio strikes a stunning balance between absolute musical freedom and melodic control.
With a pedigree that includes work with Jeff Parker and Perfume Genius, the group navigates vast sonic territory concisely. Tracks like the spacey Fumarole and the futuristic Schwa create fluid, dynamic worlds in under three minutes. However, the centrepiece is the seven-minute closer, a melancholy, deconstructed cover of The Beatles’ The Fool on the Hill—recorded the very first time the band played together. Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes is deep, alluring, and sparse enough to find yourself in.
Eve Adams – American Dust (Basin Rock)
Eve Adams refines the folk noir template of her previous work on American Dust, a cohesive collection that transports listeners to the sun-baked landscapes of the American Southwest. Moving beyond the themes of flight found on Metal Bird, Adams uses dust as a motif for the passage of time, connecting her current desert existence to her ancestors’ Dust Bowl history on tracks like the windswept Dirty Thirties.
Produced by Bryce Cloghesy (Military Genius), the album oscillates between the languorous intimacy of Nowhere Now and the Lynchian malevolence of Strangers. Whether utilising the evocative wail of a steam train horn on the climate-conscious Amen! or the wistful yearning of closer Death Valley Forever, Adams proves herself a keen visual songwriter. American Dust is a cinematic triumph, cleverly juxtaposing the vastness of the high desert with the raw, intimate experience of the individual.
Jens Kuross – Crooked Songs (Woodsist)
Encouraged by guitarist Hayden Pedigo (who also co-produced the album), Idaho-based songsmith Jens Kuross strips away the polish on Crooked Songs, delivering his warmest and most intimate release yet. Captured with a raw, “live and lived-in” aesthetic, the album relies solely on voice, electric piano, and subtle ambient synth, embracing imperfections like creaking floorboards and clunking keys to enhance its emotional weight.
The songwriting is powerfully unpretentious. Hymn of Defeat pairs heavy-handed playing with lyrics of quiet despair, while the minimal chords of Beggar’s Nation evoke the haunting simplicity of Amnesiac-era Radiohead. Closing with the optimistic title track and the ambient sounds of a kitchen, Crooked Songs is a bold, profound statement—a special collection where the unvarnished delivery allows the soul of the music to shine.
Patrick Shiroishi – Forgetting is Violent (American Dreams)
For Patrick Shiroishi, the saxophone is a “talisman against prejudice.” On his fourth and most ambitious solo album, Forgetting is Violent, the LA-based composer tackles racism and historical oppression with angry, impassioned grace. Split into two suites, the record balances chaotic experimentation with moments of profound, meditative beauty.
Side A confronts colonial themes, blending spoken-word layers with Shiroishi’s scattered sax on tracks like the chaotic opener and the ambient, Faith Coloccia-assisted …what does anyone want but to feel a little more free?. Side B turns personal, mourning a family member lost to overdose while acknowledging broader societal injustices. Featuring BIG|BRAVE’s Mat Ball on the noisy finale, this is a vibrant cri de coeur—a lightning rod for stories of grief and resilience that demands to be heard.
Jake Xerxes Fussell & James Elkington – Rebuilding (Fat Possum)
Folklore forager Jake Xerxes Fussell and producer James Elkington reunite for Rebuilding, the soundtrack to Max Walker-Silverman’s film about a rancher’s recovery from wildfire. Building on the chemistry of their previous collaborations (When I’m Called, Good and Green Again), the duo crafts a set of seventeen miniatures defined by clarity, warmth, and cinematic spaciousness.
Evoking the dusty atmosphere of Ry Cooder’s Paris, Texas and the quiet grace of Yo La Tengo’s Old Joy, tracks like Things We Lost blend acoustic steel guitar with subtle brass. Whether layering strings over reverb-heavy banjo on Contemplating the Moon or capturing melancholy on the slow-moving Cowboy Without Cows, the album balances minimalism with emotional depth. It is a poignant, cohesive collection that beautifully mirrors the film’s themes of resilience and landscape.