In the first of a new playlist series called ‘Reflections’, we ask Jenny Sturgeon and Boo Hewerdine (Outliers) to put together a playlist that inspires them. Much like our Off the Shelf feature, the choices can be pretty revealing, fascinating and often unexpected.

South London-based experimental artist Kiran Leonard signs to Memorials of Distinction and releases his new single ‘Treat Me A Stranger’, accompanied by a video that is no less beguiling, confusing, funny and uniquely brilliant…It’s a small, intricate gem, and I love it.

This is the Kit has shared their new single, a cover of Gruff Rhys’ Sensations in the Dark which came about when they toured the States together last year.

In many ways, Dean McPhee’s latest offering is a cerebral trip for sure, but every minute of Astral Gold is brimming with what can only be described as soul.

For the latest release in their Imaginational Anthem series, Tompkins Square invited James Toth to curate a tribute album to the legendary Bruce Cockburn. Listen to Jerry David DeCicca (feat. Bill Callahan) performing a cover of Forty Years in the Wilderness.

Katherine Priddy’s ‘The Pendulum Swing’, is an incredibly cohesive album. With the central theme being the notion of home, it hits the heart and mind with pinpoint accuracy.

Taken from her Merge debut ‘Bite Down’, listen to Rosali’s new single “On Tonight”. “…I kind of wrote the song from the P.O.V. of Eve seducing the snake and the narrative began to unfold as a lust for life”

Iron & Wine announces his seventh full-length album, Light Verse, described as his most playful, with its title reflecting how the songs were born with joy after the heaviness and anxiety of the pandemic. Watch the accompanying lyric video for “You Never Know”.

In a follow-up to his homespun 2020 gem Bobby Joe Hope, Jon McKiel returns on May 3rd with Hex. Listen to the title track – “Sometimes observing systems and people on the brink of collapse, it feels as though there is a hex on all of us…”

In 2005 a film was made of the Green Man Festival in Wales. It has been unreleased and unseen for nearly 20 years and features performances by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Alasdair Roberts and Joanna Newsom, among others.

Michael McGoldrick and Family put on a great show at Celtic Connections for the launch of their debut album, One For The Road. The passion, talent, and exceptional versatility meant they all had much to be proud of.

Taken from her new album ‘Coming Home’, watch Cara Dillon’s new video for her latest single ‘Giving’, inspired by her 92-year-old mother; within it lies a distilled reflection of Irish hospitality and generosity.