Our latest Off the Shelf guests are Dublin duo Varo, featuring Consuelo Nerea Breschi and Lucie Azconaga. In this series, we ask artists to present objects from a shelf or shelves in their homes and discuss them, a form of storytelling through objects. Varo recently released their highly anticipated new album, The World That I Knew, featuring some of the biggest names in Ireland’s contemporary folk and trad scene.

To mark the release of Junior Brother’s highly anticipated new album “The End”, a further video from Ellius Grace has been shared for the stripped-back “Old Bell,” a “rickety lo-fi folk song that grapples with impending death. Junior Brother says: “‘Old Bell’ is a song that pushes back against the forces which pull the fit and young into a pit of no return”.

Guitarist Steve Gunn has announced his new album, Daylight Daylight, his first for the No Quarter label. It features contributions from Macie Stewart, Ben Whiteley, Nick Macri, and Hunter Diamond, and was produced and arranged by his old friend, James Elkington. Listen to the lead single “Nearly There” and don’t miss his upcoming tour dates in the UK and EU.

“I Will Swim to You: A Tribute to Jason Molina” celebrates one of the most enduring and impactful songwriters of the last thirty years with twelve loving covers. Artists like MJ Lenderman, Horse Jumper of Love, and Hand Habits explore the raw, unvarnished truth of Molina’s music, reflecting on an artist who never shied away from desperation and who found a strange beauty in the struggle of modern life.

With this year’s Supersonic Sunday-lineup featuring some of KLOF’s favourites, we went along for the ride. Bridget Hayden, Jackie-O Motherf-cker, Hedgling, Six Organs of Admittance, Cinder Well, Jennifer Reid, Poor Creature, Richard Dawson, Funeral Folk and The Bug & Warrior Queen were outstanding. On the strength of these performances, Supersonic can claim to be not just the best small festival in the country, but the best of any size.

Buck Curran takes us Track by Track through his new album Far Driven Sun, which finds him returning to his musical roots: a deep love for the ambient and resonant nature of the acoustic steel-string guitar in alternate tunings. The album was inspired by a unique ‘Butterfly’ Model 1 guitar made by Stefan Sobell in 1990, which was used to record Arborea’s first album, Wayfaring Summer.

Gwenifer Raymond’s third album, Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark, fuses folk horror with the cosmic. From the complex guitar prowess of “Jack Parsons Blues” to the eerie sounds of “Banjo Players of Aleph One,” Raymond’s new work is a natural progression of her sound that raises the instrumental acoustic guitar album to new heights and delivers something new. It’s another banger from this excellent guitarist.

Here are ten new albums to dive into. From the psychedelic desert folk of Foot Ox and the soulful Americana of The Fishermen Three to the timeless duets of Tamar Korn and Kyle Morgan, this list offers a range of sounds. Explore the genre-bending jazz of Shrunken Elvis, the cosmic collaboration between Ivan The Tolerable & Hawksmoor, and the experimental folk-pop of Greg Jamie.

James Yorkston, Nina Persson, and Johanna Söderberg form the perfect trio on “Songs for Nina and Johanna,” creating a masterful blend of melancholy and some unexpected emotional uplift. They seem to have invigorated his work while he, in turn, has provided them with some of his most lyrically poignant songs.

Iona Zajac is set to release her highly anticipated debut album, Bang, on November 21st. The announcement follows a monumental year, marked by her powerful singles “Summer,” “Bang,” and “Anton.” Today, she unveils “Dilute,” a raw and surreal track that channels fury into liberation, offering a powerful glimpse into her cathartic new record. Watch the accompanying video, shot & directed by Carys Huws.

Jens Kuross’s Crooked Songs is by far his warmest and most intimate-sounding yet. It plays out with the sound of Jens moving around in his kitchen; the teaspoon clinks against the cup; the floor creaks. It is the sound of life and a perfect way to end such a raw, bold set of songs that are quietly profound and powerful in their unvarnished delivery. This album is something special.

Boasting an exceptional lineup of musicians and guests, Kim Carnie’s new concept album A’ Chailleach is an ode to the voices and stories of women across generations, exploring themes that people don’t often associate with the tradition – love charms, incantations, personifications of death and old rituals. Releasing on September 19th, it features Carnie’s self-composed melodies alongside collaborations with celebrated artists like Seckou Keita, Julie Fowlis, and Jerry Douglas.