Mike Davies

Lead Me To The Water is Todd Carter’s second album and while not an immediate hook, the more you listen to it, the more it makes you want to drink deep.

The Lucky Strikes may come from Southend but their music is firmly rooted in the Southern Americana as they demonstrate on their fifth album The Motion and the Moving On.

Regardless of the origin and its literary references, the album slips very comfortably into Vega’s other work and, if it prompts listeners to dig out one of McCullers’ books, then all the more power to it too.

Flying at Night is Steve Forbert’s seventeenth studio album since making his debut in 1978. It was recorded in collaboration with his longtime collaborator, multi-instrumentalist Anthony Crawford. Don’t miss his UK tour this month.

Tree is a swift follow-up to Anna Elizabeth Laube’s eponymous 2015 folk-pop debut which finds her reflecting on letting go, putting down roots and connecting with mother nature.

Canadian twins Lucas and Madeleine Roger make their debut as Roger Roger on Fairweather, an album of harmony-drenched folk-roots which reached the No. 1 spot on Canada’s National Folk/Roots/Blues chart.

The Goat Roper Rodeo Band released Cosmic Country Blue this Friday, hailing from North Wales they sound like ‘young guys with old souls’ – rockabilly, folk and two four country blues that owe a debt of influence to the likes of Hank Williams.

With a shared appreciation of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, Emma Tricca and Jason McNiff have created a hugely enjoyable and relaxed album. At under 25 minutes, it’s all too short, so here’s hoping for a full-length follow-up.

Painful though the experience may be, break-ups frequently result in some of an artist’s best work. Luke Winslow-King’s latest offering in ‘I‘m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always’ is no exception.

Featuring co-writes with the likes of Gretchen Peters and Mary Gauthier, The Emigrant is a magnificent album and a substantial addition to the Irish emigrant canon that fully confirms Glover as one of the finest in the Americana genre.

A worthy, if somewhat belated, follow-up to John Prine’s 1999 release ‘In Spite of Ourselves,’ here he is joined by the likes of Iris Dement, Alison Krauss, Holly Williams and more. One of his finest.

A terrific and highly accomplished piece of work, but its worth far transcends the album to stand as a landmark in the fight to not only illuminate the overlooked role women played in the Great War, but also to serve as a reminder that conflict in the name of right is not the monopoly of the patriarchy.