Johnny Whalley

On Fruitful Fells, Jez Hellard reminds us “…that it’s the world rather than you that’s been going mad”. Mad the world may be, but it’s immeasurably improved by having music such as this brought into it, imaginative, thought-provoking and, above all, entertaining.

Besides the fascinating history of Graham Rorie’s ‘The Orcadians of Hudson Bay’, it’s also a suite of music that ranks amongst the best that’s recently come out of the Glasgow melting pot.

Staran is both an album and the name adopted by a new collective formed by five of the most exciting young talents on the Glasgow folk scene. It’s a gem and an album truly more than the sum of its parts.

The lyrics on Christina Alden & Alex Patterson‘s Hunter, are intentionally thought-provoking while the album’s lightness of tone, together with the often deceptive simplicity of the arrangements, have the power to transport you to the wide-open spaces evoked by many of the songs.

Inspired by Patrick MacGill’s novel The Rat-Pit, Gráinne Brady’s “Newcomer” is an engaging listen from the outset. While the album as a whole tells the story of Norah Jones, there’s an equal pleasure to be gained listening to each individual strand that makes up that rich tapestry.

Brian Finnegan’s ‘Hunger of the Skin’ is a beautiful collaborative creation, featuring top-class musicians and a rich blend of music and poetry…an album developed in the wee small hours of lockdown nights, we can all now enjoy the fruits of that journey.

While it’s not unusual to make use of a synthesizer in folk-rock nowadays, the degree of imagination shown by Mec Lir in bringing those imaginings to fruition set them apart.

TRADarrr are mining a rich seam of traditional songs in their search for material, but it is the flair and imagination going into the arrangements that set them apart as proven here.

Tin whistle player Kevin Meehan has injected extra variety into a musical mix that was already overflowing with talent and imagination and has made Spanish Point an album to cherish.

John Whalley shares his Top 10 Albums of 2020 – Track Dogs, Gigspanner Big Band, The Ledger, Will Pound, The Haar, Project Smok, The Magpies, Dirk Powell, Shooglenifty & Lauren MacColl.

This first compilation from Raelach Records offers 56 minutes of first-class Irish music. Superbly executed, entertaining and delightful and as a bonus supports artists who have been deprived of opportunities to do what they love.

With their album ‘Cliffs’, Garefowl have produced music that effortlessly evokes the sights and sounds of the remote, rocky, seabird havens that make up the St Kilda archipelago. A truly satisfying album.