Mike Davies

The line-up on David Ferguson’s ‘Nashville No More’ is a testament to the respect this celebrated Nashville musician commands. This debut album is a testament to the fact he most certainly deserves it.

Hailing from Yukon, The Lucky Ones deliver their own brand of bluegrass on a promising self-titled debut throughout which there’s a strong sense of family and community.

Arriving ten years after The Faux Paws first got together, this debut may have been long in the gestation, but the experience and musical wisdom accumulated in that time has clearly paid off for a quietly unassuming but highly infectious album.

John Jenkins’ ‘If You Can’t Forgive, You Can’t Love’ is a summery hook-laden indie-pop free-flying balloon ride that makes you want to push the replay button and listen to the whole album all over again.

When James McMurtry released his debut back in 1989, he was hailed as a blazing new talent with the ability to capture a wealth of meaning and emotion in just a few words. Thirty-two years later, he’s burning brighter and fiercer than ever.

While Ben Bostick’s “Grown Up Love” is rooted in a very personal relationship and set of events, there’s a universality of experience to touch the heart and soul of anyone who’s found themselves faced with similar situations, heartache and the need to find light amid the darkness.

Mellow down with Ric Robertson’s smokey vocals and let his soulful, country-tinted melodies carry you along. Carolina Child makes for a sweet listen.

A far cry from the often politically charged tub-thumping anthems of his day job with Merry Hell, Neil McCartney’s “Memoirs From A Crooked Road” gently grows on you the more you hear it, laying down a carbon footprint that’s well worth walking in.

The stripped-back ‘Live from the Glass Isle’ not only illuminates what a gifted songwriter Chris Cleverley is but is also a glowing testament to his growing and emotionally nuanced power as a singer and the luminous nature of his guitar playing.

Kingdom Come, Garrett Heath’s second album, is cast in the mould of 60s Greenwich village troubadours, of simple but infectious folksy melodies…a quiet, simple joy.

Green Diesel return with their fourth album ‘After Comes The Dark’, a bountiful offering of classic folk-rock that follows in the footsteps of the best from Fairport Convention to Steeleye Span and The Albion Band. Get your fill.

His first new material in six years, Downhill From Everywhere finds Jackson Browne on vintage form, marrying hummable melodies to both perceptive social commentary lyrics and love songs. As far as his albums go, this is a glorious high.