Glenn Kimpton

Repertoire sees Shane Parish flex across fourteen cover songs arranged for acoustic guitar inside thirty-two minutes. Finely nuanced and not without some remarkable moments, it’s a beautifully executed collection and a fitting tribute to the likes of Alice Coltrane, Roland Kirk and John Cage.

Martin Simpson’s Skydancers is a beautifully packaged album. The music exudes class and quality, but what impresses most is the restraint. No notes are wasted and all instrumental flourishes land, enhancing each song. It is an excellent record from a master of his craft.

David Murphy’s ‘Cuimhne Ghlinn: Explorations in Irish Music for Pedal Steel Guitar’ is an incredibly confident debut album. Balanced against its elegance and the dreamlike sound of his pedal steel is a quietly adventurous spirit that is beautifully judged and unpretentious—an extraordinarily great album.

We met Jenny Sturgeon and Boo Hewerdine to talk about their new Outliers album, a beautiful celebration of spontaneity and space, blending strong songwriting with acoustic arrangements and subtle electronics.

On ‘Incarnation’, Raoul Eden draws from the dramatic side of instrumental guitar music as well as Eastern and oriental music. The ghost of Jack Rose looms alongside weird and playful moments in an engaging album.

Alongside moments of restraint and beauty, James Elkington’s ‘Me Neither’ is a fascinating insight into the encyclopaedic mind of a particularly creative and accomplished musician.

Glenn Kimpton shares his Top 10 Albums of 2023 including Daniel Bachman, Salt House, Juni Habel, Bill Orcutt, Liam Grant, Xylouris White, Steve Gunn & David Moore, John Fahey and more.

We meet up with English folk masters Eliza Carthy and Jon Boden, our current Artists of the Month, to talk about their wonderful new album Glad Christmas Comes and rum topped diplomacy…

At sixteen songs, Eliza Carthy & Jon Boden’s “Glad Christmas Comes” is, appropriately, like a big Christmas lunch that you won’t want to finish. Beautiful music from two of our very finest and most valuable artists, it is a very easy album to love.

On ‘When the Roses Come Again’ Daniel Bachman returns to the past and does a wonderful job in skilfully blending his electronic touches with traditional music. Of his whole quartet of recent work, starting with 2018’s Morning Star, this is his strongest.

D.C Cross’s Wizrad: Adventures into Ecstatic Guitar is a must for fans of the more experimental and adventurous side of the solo acoustic genre, as well as those who enjoy serious acoustic guitar flexing.

On Imaginational Anthems Vol. XII: I thought I told You, a tribute to Michael Chapman, each artist brings a freshness to the songs and offers a different perspective on many of them, making it a fascinating and rewarding album.