Helen Gregory

Radial is a fascinating showcase for Griselda Sanderson’s nyckelharpa playing – the ideal pick-me-up for jaded musical palettes and well worth seeking out.

The Lost Boys is an assured and polished debut album which showcases a wide range of Sam’s undoubted talents as a singer/songwriter gifted with a musical maturity beyond his years. It more than justifies his growing reputation as a performer and deserves to bring him and his band to the attention of a much bigger audience.

Black Sheep Bones is an impressive album in many ways, full of engaging songs, inventive arrangements and thoughtful lyrics. It’s a testimony to that fundamental driving force which inspires the unsigned independent musician, namely, doing what he loves best: making music.

For anyone with even a passing interest in the music of John Renbourn, The Attic Tapes is an essential and absorbing collection which offers a remarkable insight into the roots of one of Britain’s greatest guitarists and songwriters.

With The Land of Time, Pete Morton has created a fine collection of contemporary folk songs which aren’t afraid to face up to some of the more pressing issues of our time with wit, intelligence and nuance. These are rare qualities too often missing from much music today.

Morning Way deserves its reputation as one of the unsung musical treasures of the 1970s; a charming and magical album which still sounds fresh, with much to offer a new generation of listeners.

Real World Records release ‘Fatteliku Live’, Youssou N’Dour and his band’s live set supporting Peter Gabriel on the landmark ‘So’ tour, recorded in Athens in 1987 and making its long-awaited debut as an audio release.

The Ballads of Child Migration is an album of brand new songs from some of Britain’s finest folk musicians inspired by these heart breaking true stories and coincides with a new exhibition taking place at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood.

Bert Jansch’s eight studio album is re-issued by Earth Recordings, an overlooked gem from 1973 on which he is joined by an all-star cast including Danny Thompson, Tony Visconti, Mary Hopkin, Dave Mattacks, Ali Bain and more.

I Dreamt I Was A Bird is a sterling example of all that is good about contemporary folk music in Britain today and looks set to establish Lucy Ward in her rightful place alongside the scene’s “big names”.

Blow Out The Moon is a well-chosen selection of some of the less well-known traditional folk songs, presented with immaculate arrangements, precision musicianship and flawless harmonies. It makes the ideal companion to their debut album.

Bixiga 70 have come a long way in the two years since their previous album; III finds the band themselves sounding their most confident so far on a solid and highly enjoyable album with engaging compositions and impressive playing. A very accessible album which deserves to be a significant crossover success.

Marian’s artistic vision is painstakingly conceived and the reward for the listener who spends a little time exploring Spirit House is to discover ten intricately glowing miniature worlds, each of which will surely generate an emotional resonance in anyone who’s ever mused on the nature of the human condition.

Stanley Brinks & The Wave Pictures’ latest offering, ‘My Ass’, is a powerfully honest album which, when played back-to-back with Gin, creates an almost perfect soundtrack to the humdrum, everyday existence of many people, to the ups and downs of lives lived to the fullest extent possible and, for that alone it is definitely something to be cherished.

Atlantic Drifter is the latest album from FRUK favourite Jonathan Day… It has an air of quiet self-assurance which negates the need for any superfluous bells and whistles. The music exists in and of itself yet remains both approachable and absorbing; placeless but grounded, timeless and yet somehow outside time.

Reinventing Richard: The Songs of Richard Fariña is a new album from Plainsong as a tribute to, and celebration of, Richard’s music, fifty years after his tragic and untimely death. Read our album review, plus we have ten signed copies of the album to giveaway.

Alex Seel’s Other Paths EP is a hugely impressive musical calling card, with each of its five songs showcasing a different side of this multi-talented musician’s skills. His ear for harmonies and his subtlety as a lyricist are revelatory and it’s to be hoped that a full-length album follows before too long.

The Olde World is an accompaniment to the reissue of Michael Head and The Strands’ classic The Magical World of The Strands. Enough here to please the dedicated fan but newcomers should maybe start with the re-issue.