Mike Davies

Raised in the Midwest and now based in Nashville, this is Claire Kelly’s second full-length release – “I confess I’d not heard of her before, but on the evidence here I certainly look forward to hearing a lot more.”

Despite being conceived during a period of personal upheaval, Brigitte DeMeyer’s ‘Seeker’ glows with a redemptive spirit and sense of optimism for the life ahead. It marks a new chapter in her musical journey, and on this evidence, it’s going to be quite a page-turner.

Celebrating the French and Weimar cabaret era, the former Wailin’ Jennys member Annabelle Chvostek digs into her East European heritage alongside her Canadian background and marital Uruguayan influences for this gloriously ebullient sixth album ‘Strong of Pearls’.

Coming on the back of a personally traumatic year, ‘The Fray’ has a grip of iron. John Smith says these are the most honest songs he’s ever written…hard to disagree. Featuring an assemblage of stellar musicians it’s a shoo-in for the best of the year lists.

We owe thanks to a data salvaging company for 3hattrio’s ‘Lost Sessions’. Mike Davies advises “Not one to have you sing along perhaps, but, pour a tumbler of mescal, crush in a few psychotropic salvia leaves and let your inner ghost dog off the leash.”

Solitary Company, the third album from Joshua Tree-based duo Son of the Velvet Rat, is redolent of the stark beauty of their Mojave home. Their finest yet; an album of the year.

Welsh collective ‘Hanks Company Band’ deliver some laid back cosmic blues on their new album ‘Big on Easy’, a very fine addition to your collection of homegrown country.

While this may be Vivian Leva & Riley Calcagno’s first album together, it’s another contender for the year best-of lists…It may not stray far from well-trod musical and thematic pathways, but the duo walk them with affection for the footprints in which they step.

Linking to their last album, Edward II’s Dancing Tunes nods to the shared hardships of communities some 4000 miles apart but, more importantly, the resolve to dance through the bad times and soak up the sun when it shines. Kick-off your shoes and lively up your own dancehall days.

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings have long been established as immaculate interpreters of old-time acoustic folk and country and this is another outstanding addition to that catalogue.

Recorded over the course of a year in his Texas studio, Israel Nash’s ‘Topaz’ is a captivating album that runs the gamut from the personal to the political, the urgent to the dreamily laid back.

Featuring collaborations with Joey Burns and John Convertino from Calexico, Dean Owens first release in his Desert Trilogy EPs will certainly make the wait for the album even harder to bear.