On the final song of Linda Thompson’s Proxy Music there’s a refrain that pretty much summarises the whole album “Bound together in blood and song, who can break us?/When we are singing loud and strong, who can take us?” I hear no arguments to the contrary.
Beings are the New York City quartet Zoh Amba, Steve Gunn, Shahzad Ismaily and Jim White; their debut album, ‘There is a Garden’, is blistering, beautiful free jazz with an uncommonly sunny and accommodating outlook.
Between the cello of Clément Petit and the vocals of Msaki and Tubatsi, magic occurs. Synthetic Hearts Part II is one of those rare times when the second helping is even better than the first. Collaborations like this happen very rarely. Savour it.
The Decemberists set the bar very high with ‘As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again’, a record packed with highlights, a fully-loaded taste of their essence, pulling in every colour and thread they have touched upon in a long and varied two-decade career.
Taken from his forthcoming album, Jake Xerxes Fussell has shared his new single “Gone To Hilo”, a reinterpretation of a maritime song that he learned from a number of recordings made by American and British folk revivalists of the 1950s.
Their talent as vocalists and harmonists is at the heart of Landless’s immense appeal. Lúireach is a reliquary of rich, dramatic tales and a celebration of resolutely feminist togetherness, yet another triumph for the fantastically productive Irish folk scene.
From The Makers Out, a new project by Scott Bell, watch the stunning cinematic video for their latest single, Emerald Fireflies, a rose-coloured journey through bygone eras, evoking the essence of summer with its choice of film stock, vintage lenses, colour grading, and gauzy footage.
This is the Kit’s first live album, Live At The Minack Theatre, is available now on all DSPs. Taken from that concert, watch their stunning live performance of ‘Hotter Colder’, also our Song of the Day.
Marina Allen strikes the perfect balance between clarity and abstraction on Eight Pointed Star, fabricating a beautifully coherent but mysterious collection of songs that combine a gift for songcraft with something approaching lyrical genius.
With Maisha, The Zawose Queens have delivered a debut album that is not only vibrant and spirited but also, at times, electrifying. The traditional sounds of their ancestors, blended with modern-day electronic sounds, signal a new era.
Listen to the Monday Morning Brew Playlist featuring Naomi Berrill, Flo Perlin, M G Boulter, Little Wings, Rachel Sermanni, Kate Young, Buck Curran, Caoilfhionn Rose, Bridie Jackson, Chris Cohen, Rachel Newton, D. C Cross, Colleen, Isla Saturno, SUSS, Joseph Decosimo, Miles Cooper Seaton and more.
Featuring Agnes Martian, Laraaji, Music for Connection and Hair and Space Museum, Coincidence is a record bursting with the joy of spontaneous creativity. It is both an uncompromising demonstration of free and experimental spiritual jazz and a document attesting to the power of collaboration.
