Mike Davies

Ivy Ryann says she wants her music to offer a sanctuary with no judgement, a safe space for those beset with their own mental health issues, as a solidarity and community through song. With this album, she opens the door; step inside.

Now approaching their 25th anniversary, Yonder Mountain String Band have carved themselves a hugely impressive reputation and loyal following on the bluegrass scene and this album looks set to take that further.

Invested with reflections and memories, Judy Collins’ Spellbound is quite literally an album of a lifetime that, spurred by a pandemic that put life on hold, has equally taken almost a lifetime to find its purpose in coming into existence. Indisputably a late career high.

Anaïs Mitchell’s self-titled new album draws on the past and looks to the future – quietly affecting and beguiling, delivered with quiet, introspective emotion and perfectly attuned musical arrangements.

The Pine Hearts expand their musical horizons and refine their newgrass sound on Lost Love Songs on which thoughtful lyrics touch on emotions to which we can all relate…well worth discovering and giving a  home.

A stunning return by Amy Boone, who exudes assurance and bruised sensuality alongside evocative lyrics from Willy Vlautin and a consummately crafted soundscape. The Sea Drift is an intoxicating piece of work from The Delines.

Recorded over two years, Dean Owens’ “Sinner’s Shrine” finally emerges out of the sand and desert nights with its heart beating and warmth radiating from its musical core,  go and make your pilgrimage.

Beguilingly sung, melodic, warm, tender, open and insightful in its vortex of emotions, Kate Ellis’ ‘Spirals’ is an early contender for the year’s best-of lists.

Warm, relaxed, bittersweet, sad and joyful in equal measure, recorded two years before 2020’s Notes From Vinegar Hill, Herman Dune’s ‘Santa Cruz Gold’ stands as an often thematic companion piece, and its first-time physical release is a very welcome addition to the library.

The songs on ‘Wish For You’ form a maternal love letter from the heart, something Allison Moorer describes as spirit music. While the EP may resonate strongly with those who’ve shared similar experiences, it will also be welcome among admirers of her bewitching brand of Americana.

Forget Me Nots aren’t radical reworks or reinterpretations in any way. Warmly sung and finely played by Jesse Terry, featuring largely laid back and uncluttered arrangements, they are affectionate love letters to his influences.

Weep The Time Away is a wonderfully atmospheric album with Sofie Livebrandt’s nuanced interpretations perfectly attuned to Emily Brontë’s poetry, its reflections and sentiments. It honours and illuminates its source, prompting more to discover Brontë’s work.