Mike Davies

The songs on See The Big Man Cry have been so well chosen and covered that should Robert Rex Waller Jr fancy flipping through his record collection for a third volume, it would be very welcome.

While Victoria Bailey may not be a widely known name, with her excellent playing and from-the-heart songs, A Cowgirl Rides On should go a long way to remedying that.

A decidedly ambitious project, P.J.M. Bond’s ‘In Our Time’ is based on the writings of Ernest Hemingway which has been glowingly acclaimed by a highly respected Hemingway scholar; it fully deserves to reap the same rewards from music critics and audiences too.

Songs to the Dust is a magnificent conclusion to Ian David Green’s outstanding and critically acclaimed trilogy, all of which deserve a pride of place in your collection.

On ‘We Will Never Be The Same’, the latest offering from the Canadian trio the Good Lovelies, they present a rather wonderful album about accepting the march of time but not giving in to it.

Ida Wenøe’s ‘Undersea’ is like musical Reiki for the soul, offering a view of life that, like the ocean, can be often filled with mystery and darkness, but “when the light hits its surface, it can be the most golden thing existing”. Immerse yourself.

‘World Brand New’, the new album from Mouths of Babes, is a ridiculously infectious collection of Americana and an outstanding album that flies the flag for compassion, understanding and change, which we’d all do well to salute.

Unless you live in North America, particularly Rhode Island, the chances of experiencing Ed Sweeney and Clasper-Torch performing are remote. However, A Sunday Drive, a fine album in all its musical and emotional simplicity, is ample compensation.

Unanswered is an album born of serendipitous circumstances, and together, Ward Knutur Townes (ft. Derbyshire’s Lucy Ward, Iceland’s Svavar Knútur and Canadian Adyn Townes) cast an intoxicating spell, one which we hope they will repeat again.

All Sails to the Sun, the fourth full-length album by London-based contemporary folk singer-songwriter Alex Seel, presents a persuasive argument as to why he should have a far higher profile to match the critical acclaim he’s accrued.

More Than a Whisper is a fine and glowingly affectionate tribute to Nanci Griffith, a much-loved and much-missed singer and songwriter, whose loss will reverberate for years to come.

Avalanche is Jenny Owen Youngs’ first full-length studio album in ten years and her Yep Roc label debut. While it has been a long time coming, much like the phenomenon of its title, it will sweep you up in its path.