David Kidman

A compelling listen from beginning to end. Here, the inordinate beauty of Appalachian old-time and chamber music melds together inextricably to deliver one of the most enchanting and satisfying albums I’m bound to hear this year.

Jacken Elswyth returns with the sixth in her series of Betwixt & Between releases. Her guest for this latest tape release is Berlin-based drummer Ryan Eyers whose creative (and unshowy) drumming, turns out to be a strangely complementary foil for Jacken’s own contributions.

It’s good to welcome Georgia back, and her third album is an unobtrusive delight where the alternately lush and sparse conjured textures beguile the attentive listener in their careful response to Georgia’s ever-intriguing lyrical vision.

Distinguished by Emma Morton’s cool, controlled vibrato, Brighton-based Sairie return with five-track-EP Scarlet And Blue, a very persuasive blend of voice and instrumental that bodes well for their future.

On Waterbound, those all-important qualities of spontaneity and togetherness come across brilliantly, and in spades. Also, Alden Patterson & Dashwood have lavished just as much love and care on the package for this live album as they did on its predecessors.

This brand new offering from the intensely versatile Swan-Dyer partnership is the product of their latest obsession – contra dance music. Don’t be sidetracked by its primarily dance-based rationale, but treat it as a pure – and purely enjoyable – listening experience.

Rattle on the Stovepipe’s “Through The Woods” is possibly even finer than their previous albums while Dave Arthur’s new release is a compilation of sorts, spanning the 15+ years of Dave’s tenure with the band he himself founded back in the early-noughties.

As debuts go, War to the Palaces is very impressive indeed. Recorded, mixed, produced and mastered by Ragged Trousers’ own David Hirst, it’s also a pretty accurate representation of what they offer live. So let’s have more please, lads – and soon!

Untied Kingdom makes a truly inspiring and magnificently empowering sound: the voices of Commoners Choir combine a gutsy, edgy delivery with an enviably well-drilled precision – an exhilarating display of rousing natural togetherness, of pride and of passion.

Anyone witnessing their live appearances will testify to Kathryn Roberts’ and Sean Lakeman’s massive natural talent for storytelling in song, which On Reflection both acknowledges and celebrates through contemporary revisits that prove totally engaging.

Fairport Convention are still making consistent music that never falls below the top-notch bracket. Shuffle And Go is another solid, and solidly desirable, entry in the Fairport canon.

An exceedingly intriguing record, as notable for its deceptively vulnerable character as for its compact, concentrated expressiveness. Diana also confirms herself to be a writer of considerable insight and a performer of no mean sensitivity.