In Michelle Laverick, we have another talented storyteller to join the illustrious ranks of North East song makers. Just maybe, in the magical world she has invited us to enter, cherries will one day grow on apple trees.
Jesse Terry’s latest album, Arcadia, may surprise some with its big chords, blues organ sweeps and ringing guitars but, to borrow a line from the title track, it’ll be “worth the sweat and blood/Just to hear the gods rejoice”.
While Peter Bruntnell’s “Houdini and the Sucker Punch” may feature a collection of misfits and unfortunates, there are absolutely no missteps in a ten-song collection that is bound to feature on many people’s Albums of the Year for 2024.
Myriam Gendron “doesn’t rely on fireworks. Her singing and guitar playing are entirely devoid of gimmick.” This is perfectly highlighted in this spontaneous performance of ‘Long Way Home’ from her latest album, ‘Mayday.’
The Shovel Dance Collective, a kind of avant-folk supergroup, but without any of the hubris that term implies, once again demonstrate, through their new album ‘The Shovel Dance’, how they are changing the way folk music is created, and doing so with breathtakingly, potent tunes.
The Weather Station — the project of Toronto-based Tamara Lindeman — announces her return with Humanhood and shares the accompanying video and lead single ‘Neon Signs’. This really does feel like the big album she spoke of in 2022.
Danish guitar improviser Martin Kirkegaard teams up with pianist Mikkel Almolt for ‘Molacg (part 1 & 2)’, a double LP of sharply focused improvised instrumental sound. A fascinating and essential release.
Chris Cleverley hits the road ahead of his new Winter EP, ‘In the Shadow of John the Divine’ on which he promises to flip the well-explored seasonal genre on its head.
Our Song of the Day is ‘Now & Then’, the new single from Queens, NY, musician Wolf van Elfmand featuring the legendary Karl Blau. The song is a simple yearning for some good fortune.
Beautifully presented in both aural and physical form (as an illustrated book CD), Christine Collister’s ‘Children of the Sea’ is a beguiling, intoxicating listen and read – a career pinnacle.
The latest Folklore Tapes Ceremonial Counties covers Cambridgeshire and London, with Ian Humberstone and Human Hand providing one of the most exciting and challenging instalments yet.
With ‘Westlin Winds’, The Wilderness Yet have surpassed even their own extremely high standards by giving the acapella aspect of their work the time and space to breathe and flourish. They’ve produced an album that melds tradition and originality into an iridescent vocal soundscape.
