Mike Davies

The Ridge Trilogy EPs are tantalising, appetite-whetting snapshots of a work in progress and an atmospheric collection in its own right, Dean Owens is mining gold…

Taking in traditional English, Scottish and Irish tunes as well as self-penned material, Thorpe  & Morrison’s “Grass & Granite” is a glowing testament to their musicianship and virtuosity drawing on themes that explore both longings for home and moving on to new experiences.

Jesse Terry’s latest album, Arcadia, may surprise some with its big chords, blues organ sweeps and ringing guitars but, to borrow a line from the title track, it’ll be “worth the sweat and blood/Just to hear the gods rejoice”.

Beautifully presented in both aural and physical form (as an illustrated book CD), Christine Collister’s ‘Children of the Sea’ is a beguiling, intoxicating listen and read – a career pinnacle.

Devarrow says his mission is “to make music that feels really good.” With Heart Shaped Rock, an album that explores themes of love, loss, self-discovery, and social consciousness, I’d say the mission is accomplished.

Julian Taylor’s third solo-credited studio release, Pathways, finds him in a reflective mood and ranks him alongside fellow Canadian folk music luminaries Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Joni Mitchell.

The End Of The Rainbow is one of Sean Taylor’s most impassioned albums; for all the tribulations, he ultimately offers the hope and faith that “the world keeps turning by and by”.

While it’s probably fair to say that Si Kahn’s name is not as popularly well-known as that of Seeger or Guthrie, as Labor Day – and the many albums before it – unequivocally demonstrates, he’s every inch their equal.

Jamie Sutherland describes his second solo album, The World As It Used To Be, as songs with the sense that things aren’t black and white; laced with memories, hope and regret, it ultimately sounds the simple affirmation that “we will rise above the darkness”.

Cheer Up is a journey through darkness, self-loathing and doubt into the light and salvation…John Blek’s voice has never sounded better; it’s unquestionably his finest work yet.

As the song says, when the nights grow dark and the days overcast, we all need dreamers to shine a light and strike a spark to help us see the path; with Dreamers, the Wild Ponies shine their brightest.

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings’ Woodland is steeped in timeworn American folk roots but filtered through a contemporary Americana lens; they remain the benchmark for acoustic roots duos – consummate brilliance.