Mike Davies

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.

Byla Rose’s debut Pacific Coast Folk EP ‘How Far’ is an intoxicating calling card drenched with thrilling potential for things yet to come.

Simon Flory’s early-country sounding ‘Haul These Blues Away’ may be an album steeped in hardships and hurt perhaps, but ultimately it’s a hymn to finding contentment and your own way in the world.

An album of positivity in an uncertain world, The Hoth Brothers new album ‘Tell Me How You Feel’ makes for a damn fine listen with a delightful variety of shades from the Carter Family to John Prine and The Band.

Recorded at home in isolation, ‘Grounded’ finds John Blek seeking to find a sense of balance and purpose amid the surrounding uncertainty. While experimenting with different compositional techniques it also cuts straight to the heart.

Described as a way to make sense of what it means to be human, connect, embrace change, and face another day…Valley Maker reminds us that the night is not endless.