Mike Davies

Doghouse Roses return with their third album featuring a number of guest musicians including Jez Hellard and Laura-Beth Salter of The Shee. One that’s well worth the wait and is quite simply, their best work yet.

Hard to believe, but it’s twenty years since Gillian Welch released her groundbreaking debut album, Revival. To mark the occasions, she’s been through the archives and, along with musical partner David Rawlings, has put together Boots No 1: The Official Revival Bootleg, a double disc 21 track collection of demos, outtakes, alternate takes and other previously unreleased tracks.

Whilst you can play spot the musical namecheck if you have to, you’d be far better off to stop such swithering and just turn up the volume, and appreciate one of the finest musicians to have come out of Glasgow in the past decade.

Featuring 12 brand new songs produced by Thomas Bartlett featuring self-penned and songs written by friends and relatives: Beth Orton, Glen Hansard, Rufus Wainwright, Michael Ondaatje and Merrill Garbus of tune-yArDs.

The Slow Show return with their follow-up to last year’s debut album, White Water. Of Dream Darling, frontman Rob Goodwin says they’ve drawn even more on their classical influences this time around.

Like fellow Western Swing revivalists, Hotclub of Cowtown, the trio have a real affection and affinity for the music they play and, while it may, to some extent, be a niche market, acts like this ensure it’s a very vibrant one.

With the dust has barely settled on their last album, 3hattrio return with Solitaire, their third album, the arid imagery inspired by their red-rock southern Utah base. Inventive and experimental, but still firmly within the territory they have marked out for themselves.

Fronted by alternative south Wales music scene veteran, Chris Ridgeway, the oddly monikered Welsh outfit Cakehole Presley release their second album. Completed last year, it was put on hold following the passing of co-leader Mark Humphries, it serves as a fine tribute to him.

Will Varley says he’s been wanting to make a record like Kingsdown Sundown for a long time. He couldn’t have picked a better moment. Don’t miss his tour of the UK & Ireland this month.

The fourth release from Canterbury-based singer-songwriter Luke Jackson reveals an artist that continues to grow in maturity as he fine tunes his craft. With Tall Tales and Rumours he delivers another winner.

Ashes is the debut album from Stockholm-based Albert Af Ekenstam citing Bon Iver, Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky as influences shaping his quiet, melancholic music.

With the current divisions tearing America apart, the Dive-By Truckers latest offering, American Band, isn’t just a bloody good album, it’s a bloody important one too.