David Morrison

On Sex & Dying, Marin Patenaude gets right into the nitty-gritty essence of human existence…don’t shy away, rather revel in its luxuriant sonics, acknowledge its poetry and, as you listen – just as she has – maybe ponder what it is to be human.

Lauren Oxford’s wondrous eponymous debut somehow evaded my keen radar at the time of release. It would’ve effortlessly landed in my 2022 Top 10 if I’d heard it before then.

Trent Freeman, best known as a fiery fiddle player in The Fretless, has released an EP of original fiddle tunes, recorded live on Vancouver Island. The line-up is from the top drawer of Canadian roots talent.

David Morrison shares his Top 10 albums of 2022 including Mali Obomsawin, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Blue Moon Marquee, Pharis & Jason Romero, Of The Sun, Jeb Loy Nichols, Gina Davis and more.

Elise Boeur & Adam Iredale-Gray have been duetting on fiddles since their teens, so ‘Fiddle Tunes’ has been a long time coming; an undiluted return to their folk roots…with their diverse track record, who knows what they may dish up for next…volume 2 would be nice.

As well as being a clarion call and a beacon of defiance, Mali Obomsawin’s ‘Sweet Tooth’ is one of those albums that utterly defy expectation or convention – it occupies its own universe, arriving from leftfield to blow your mind.

While in the blinding light of day, Marian van der Zon’s debut album ‘Still Rising’ is ‘simply’ a collection of highly listenable folk songs created in a rural Vancouver Island community; in terms of a triumph of the human spirit, it is an extraordinary achievement.

Shane Watt Bannd’s ‘Low Rent Folk’ is folk-rock with a slight retro twist, performed in a beautifully loose manner, seemingly sometimes on the point of collapse, but all the better for that edginess.

Blue Moon Marquee display their full range of stylistic talents on Scream, Holler & Howl, their finest album to date. It feels like a pivotal moment for the band, one that should see them break big internationally.

Populated with some delightful, quirky and perky lyrical wordplay, with ‘Field Notes’, Gina Davis’ hard work and deliberation have yielded one of 2022’s loveliest albums.

Supported by a talented guest lineup, with Tell ‘Em You Were Gold, Pharis & Jason Romero reinforce their position within the upper echelons of the global folk music community. Bathed in a warm glow, this album is a delight from start to finish.

‘Play it loud,’ Strohm implores on Country Mouse’s Bandcamp page, and as much of a cliché as that is, it truly is the only way to listen to music of such power as this. 

Organic and intimate in feel, Abigail Lapell’s “Stolen Time” is an emotionally potent offering and one that’s sure to lead to a significant and well-deserved international breakthrough.

Kyle Morgan’s ‘Younger at Most Everything’ is one of those gems that’s so good and so atmospheric that it stops you in your tracks. If the rest of the year continues to deliver music of this soaring standard, we could be in for a vintage twelve months.

David Morrison shares his Top 10 Albums of 2021 including: Eleanor Buckland, Evan Cheadle, Circuit Des Yeux, The Deep Dark Woods, Le Ren, Son Volt, Lorkin O’Reilly and more.

‘You Don’t Have To Know’ showcases Eleanor Buckland’s raw honesty and deft songcraft which finds her rising above, casting out, and ultimately owning the dark emotions that fuel such soul-baring lyrics.

Leftovers, more than bears out the mouthwatering promise dramatically displayed on Le Ren’s Morning & Melancholia EP. In fact, if I may be so bold, I’ll proclaim Leftovers as an instant timeless folk classic.

The incisive songcraft on Lorkin O’Reilly’s ‘Marriage Material’ pulls you into his world – a place of graphic memories, hearts and flowers, wide-eyed wonder, hopes, regrets, and life’s little quirks – and it’s impossible not to surrender to the experience.