It’s rare to hear Oldham in such emphatic voice but there is something unmistakably upbeat and uplifting at work on his latest offering ‘Singer’s Grave a Sea of Tongues’. Plus watch his new video.
Blind Willies use a clever range of ideas and influences to create an album that sparkles. Musically it calms, soothes and lulls, while lyrically it refuses to blend into the background.
Summer 2014 sees the eagerly anticipated follow-up release from those purveyors of Western swing, country blues and ragtime – Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra.
The O’s who have just finished supporting Del Amitri on tour demonstrate a lightness of touch and flair for understated melancholy on their latest offering ‘Thunderdog’.
Aventine finds Agnes Obel in a darker, more plaintive mood following her 2010 breakthrough but all the signs point to a songwriter going from strength to strength.
Caitlin Rose’s latest release ‘The Stand-In’ is a more straight-up country album, with less of the residual indie sensibilities of ‘Own Side Now’. A great second album from an artist with a big future.
Fence Records darlings Kid Canaveral make a long-awaited and welcome return with Now That You Are A Dancer, the follow-up to 2010’s compelling Shouting At Wildlife.
Alexander Wolfe’s album Skeleton’s offers intricate guitar work, shimmering soundscapes, intimate, yearning vocals and bruising lyrical vignettes…a cacophonous leap into the sublime…
Glasgow based ‘Snowgoose’ release debut album ‘Harmony Springs’. Well-crafted melodies combine the influences of 1960s British folk music and West Coast American sounds in a way that feels remarkably fresh.
Kirsty McGee’s latest album Contraband deals in wounds and healing with remarkable honesty…yet, by the end you come away feeling hopeful and restored, rather than weighed down by the relentless waves of emotion.
Calexico’s latest release ‘Algiers’ retains many of the marks of the band’s distinctive rootsy, border sound but introduces a poppier, more accessible element.
Meursault have recorded a great album that arrives slightly late to the party, but it’s one that should bring them some of the success they richly deserve.
Eugene Twist’s ‘The Boy Who Had Everything’ marks the Glasweigan singer’s self-release debut and although just eight tracks long, he’s produced a very accomplished album.
On ‘The Sailor’s Revenge’ Bap Kennedy has surpassed all his past music to create as close as any musician is likely to get to their perfect record. The stars aligned, this is the album that Kennedy was always capable of making.
Dan Raza’s debut self titled release is an album about roots and identity; love and forgiveness; about leaving home and going back again. The heart of the album’s appeal is Raza’s emergence as a songwriter of exceptional talent.
Nels Andrews latest release ‘Scrimshaw’ is a sparsely presented and strikingly intimate album that combines deft storytelling with a warmth of tone and gentleness of pace.
