Our latest Mixtape walks the line between tradition and experimentation courtesy of French label Pagans, alongside music from Anna & Elizabeth, Joseph Decosimo, Nathan Bowles, Jack Rose, Bill MacKay, Buck Curran, Greenvine, Gwenifer Raymond, Brad Barr, and Toby Hay.

We look back at Anna and Elizabeth’s groundbreaking self-titled album, to be released on vinyl for the first time on its Tenth Anniversary – “a rare album that is as intimate as it is ambitious and as idiosyncratic as it is reverential.”

Joshua Burnside shares his new single and video “Nicer Part of Town”–”a daydream song, following thoughts and memories around, some nice, some not so nice,” in which he heads back to a “childhood kitchen, and then up into the heavens on an old spaceship. We then sleep rough under a bridge, get blown up by a car bomb and end up in the garden of Eden.”

By no means overshadowing Blue Lake’s previous album, Weft, The Animal instead provides further proof of Jason Dungan’s ambition and ability as a musician and now bandleader. A record celebrating human collaboration and the beauty of life and nature, The Animal sees Blue Lake push its sound into new realms, once again surprising and delighting—a wonderful, uplifting instrumental album.

Bergamo-based guitarist Buck Curran’s Far Driven Sun is an intensely musical, layered set celebrating his reunion with a 1990 Stefan Sobell ‘Butterfly’ acoustic guitar. From the intimate “Vignettes” to the subtly dynamic “Bells” and the buoyant “Unicorn Song,” it showcases Buck’s exquisite touch as a player and recording artist. It’s a highly accomplished album, made with love and performed with the utmost skill and intricate musicianship.

Watch the accompanying music video for Irish duo Rezo’s new single, “Nothing Else.” Produced by David Odlum, the track follows their critically acclaimed 2024 album, The Age of Self-Help. Featuring the poignant lyrics and heartfelt melodies of Colm O’Connell and Rory McDaid, “Nothing Else” captures “the abject tragedies of life and the power of love,” cementing Rezo’s status as a key alternative Irish act.

Another Monthly Subscriber playlist featuring the artists we’ve been enjoying over the past month, including: Junior Brother, The Little Unsaid, Ron Sexsmith, Eve Adams, JJJJJErome Ellis, Lucrecia Dalt, Jens Kuross, Iona Zajac, James Yorkston, Gwenifer Raymond, Steve Gunn, Buck Curran, Saul Williams, Carson McHone, Big Thief, claire rousay, Joan Shelley, Fruit Bats, Kathryn Williams, Trond Kallevåg, Patrick Shiroishi, M. Sage, Smote, SML, Sir Richard Bishop, Katie Spencer, Michael Hurley & …

Following the release of her fourth album, Enter Now Brightness, in February, New Zealander Nadia Reid delves into the familial and folk shadows of one of music’s most mythologised figures. Reid has released a digital double A-side that goes beyond mere tribute to intergenerational conversation: a cover of Nick Drake’s “Poor Boy” paired, strikingly, with his mother Molly Drake’s spectral retort, “Poor Mum.”

Following the release of her debut album, Rift, Clara Mann has just announced Rift (Extended Edition), which includes two new covers and two French-language versions of standout tracks from the original album. Accompanied by Owen Spafford on fiddle, and released today as a double A-side single, listen to her performing “500 Miles,” a traditional song inspired by Hedy West’s version and “My Life,” by Iris DeMent.

Mason Lindahl’s meticulous dual-release presents a captivating study of ambient texture and place. Recorded in California (Joshua) and Iceland (Same Day Walking), the albums’ distinct sonic palettes—one “woolier and warmer,” the other starker—are inseparable from their locales. Lindahl’s singular nylon string guitar style, with its complex picking and judicious synth/organ touches, finds both intimacy and an otherworldly feel in an album of outstanding guitar music.

Joan Shelley’s new album, ‘Real Warmth,’ is an intimate and urgent collection of songs. With a unique, collaborative sound, the music explores profound themes of human connection, global divisions, and our fragile planet. It’s a beautiful example of American folk that stands as the finest offering from her esteemed career so far.

In an echo of the past, Rafael Toral unveils a new single, “Solitude,” from his upcoming album, Traveling Light. The track revisits the Duke Ellington standard, a piece that has long served as a canvas for improvisers from Thelonious Monk to Mary Halvorson. Yet, Toral’s interpretation channels the profound, almost sacred vulnerability of Billie Holiday’s classic take.