Mike Davies

For ‘Anniversary’, Abigail Lapell celebrates commitment and growing old together…with music and songs such as these, let’s hope her albums turn into an annual event.

Josienne Clarke’s ‘Parenthesis, I’ is an affirmation that out of the deepest darkness sometimes comes the brightest light…to paraphrase her lyric, Clarke spins her alchemy, she gives us hope.

Massachusetts duo Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards return with Making Promises, their fourth studio album, once more steeped in their close harmony folksy Americana with several stripped-back acoustic songs inspired by their marriage in 2021. 

With Ruth Theodore’s meticulously constructed melodies and literate, open-hearted and relatable lyrics, ‘I Am I Am’ is her finest album to date.

Canada’s The Deep Dark Woods return with another fine selection of folk songs – Broadside Ballads Vol III. It’s a quietly intoxicating album featuring the warm-voiced Ryan Boldt, his band, and special guest Erin Rae.

While The Lostines’ eclectic yet familiar musical influences connect with the listener across their debut album, there is far more going on beneath the surface that makes this duo’s lyrical tales all the more alluring. It’s definitely time for more people to meet them.

With an underlying theme of home, and featuring a number of co-writers and guest musicians, Ben Glover’s ‘And The Sun Breaks Through The Sky’ is a top-notch addition to an already outstanding catalogue.

Marlinchen In The Snow, the fourth studio album from Australian sibling duo Charm Of Finches soothes and disturbs in equal measure, whimsical but wise, like the bird in the fairy tale, it rises to sing the truth.

“Already allocated a place in my albums of the year” – Both dark and profoundly moving, a confessional and a prayer, John Moreland’s ‘Visitor’ takes him back to basics, with an emphasis on his voice and his words.

Featuring guests Steven Adams, Polly Paulusma and Boo Hewerdine, “I Thought It Would Be Easier”, Annie Dressner’s fourth studio album, finds her transforming moments of sadness into moments of musical joy.

India Electric Co. takes a giant leap forward with Pomegranate, a highly textured and musically adventurous album. Just as the pomegranate symbolised death and regeneration, the album has a framework of contrasts and shifting states; the seeds within are glistening jewels.

With their name capturing both their affection for the musical past and the forgive-and-forget nature of many of the songs, The Bygones is a real delight of a debut and the foundation of a bright future ahead.