Mike Davies

Amy Speace, one of the great contemporary Americana singer-songwriters, returns with yet another masterpiece, songs about the clash between dreams and reality, of trials and triumphs and trying to make sense of life with its swings and roundabouts. Her best yet.

On ‘Is It The Kiss’, Ana Egge says that the songs emerged from the sense of unease and a deeper need for connection in the world and that people are listening more than they ever have before. This album would be a very good place for you to start.

Rachel Harrington returns with her first new album in eight years. Hush The Wild Horses fills in the gaps of those intervening years which include finding new love as well as dealing with loss and ghosts of the past.

Johnstown, the 1999 Appalachian-gothic, folk-noir masterpiece from Oh Susanna gets a well-deserved anniversary remastering with the addition of bonus tracks. On UK Tour in September.

We review Charlie Parr’s latest eponymous offering. This is actually Parr’s 17th album in as many years and those who’ve followed his journey will most definitely want this in their collection. Also, find out why he has an extra string on his resonator.

As a live album, Horses and Stars is so intimate and sparse you can almost hear the sweat drip and the blood pulsing as Sam baker draws you into his stories, it may not introduce him to new audiences but the converted will have much to celebrate.

So It Turns is a musically complex and nuanced work with emotions to match, this may not have the immediacy of its predecessor, but its contemplative air marks Sermanni’s passage from a musician to an artist.

Despite the album title, The Rails show no signs of going quietly into that dark night as they further the rockier, more electric guitar feel of their last release while also displaying the Thompson musical DNA and family folk influences.

The HawtThorns are an L.A. duo comprising singer-songwriter KP (downsized from Kirsten Proffit), formerly of Calico, and guitarist Johnny Hawthorn, both of whom have solo albums under their belt.

Ian Noe tells compelling stories set to simple but infectiously memorable melodies. He cites John Prine as his biggest influence; this can stand shoulder to shoulder with his fellow Kentuckian’s self-titled debut.

Evoking a 70s Laurel Canyon feel with inevitable early Joni Mitchell comparisons surfacing, Native Harrow’s latest album shimmers and glows with a warmth and emotional intimacy that’s impossible to resist.

Karine Polwart covers some fifty years of Scottish pop and rock in an album of covers from Gerry Rafferty to Frightened Rabbit. Sung from the heart she makes each song her own, a triumphant tribute to some of Scotland’s finest.