Bob Fish

While it’s been a long journey, Albion is a most auspicious beginning for Tim Smith’s second act as Harp, which finds him alongside his wife, Kathi Zung. Together, they have created new waves of hope as the dark winter approaches.

As demonstrated with ‘Elephantasia’, Dave Evans made the most amazing music imaginable but did so on his own terms…a timeless record that needs to be heard. Of course, it never demands it because that was never his way.

Merging moments of traditional folk with forays into jazz and beyond, Sheffield-based Auka’s ‘Wild Waters’ is a clarion call to both enjoy and protect nature – inspired and fuelled by a deep love for rewilding and the Right to Roam movements.

When things begin to stagnate, the answer is to shake things up, which is what Zach Berkman needed to do on The Heart of. An album that examines that complex dance of human existence, and that endless search for connection.

Fascinating in its simplicity while constantly shifting focal points, with Nightwater/ all the dead do is dream, Gabriel Birnbaum creates worlds that are the perfect antidote for whatever the day has brought.

Gentle yet searching, yearning yet hopeful, Mutual Benefit’s ‘Growing at the Edges’ always seems to hold out hope despite how grim things can feel…just as birds seem to know that spring will come again.

With Sonder III, Harriet Riley and Alex Garden play with a confidence and beauty that tugs at the heartstrings while illustrating how new forms can evolve from unlikely combinations, creating unparalleled magic.

Despite the complex subject matter of Haunted Mountain, Jolie Holland refuses to look away and finds the connective tissue that creates moments of sonic splendour.

Jerry Joseph cares about two things: music and truth, and the nine tunes on Baby, You’re the Man Who Would Be King take no prisoners, they burn with an intensity lacking in much of what passes for music these days.

Luluc plumb unspoken depths on ‘Diamonds’. They somehow manage to create a sense of lushness while using sonic simplicity. Their glorious visions deliver a magic that reaffirms what we are and what we can be.

Unfolding at its own pace, Spirit Fest finds the mystical core of their music on Bear in Town. Not a moment is truly rushed, unfolding precisely, forging musical connections that touch the soul of what makes us human.

By creating a new palette of sounds, Dot Allison merges musical worlds, finding ways to not just colour outside the lines but obliterate them altogether. “Consciousology” reinvents musical frameworks, merging sounds and worlds in ways that expand our musical vocabulary.