Thomas Blake

Otterburn is still recognisably – and brilliantly – part of Neilson’s impressive and growing catalogue of work, but these are songs hacked out of the rock of grief and raw emotion, and they are something quite special.

Travelling Bright is not an album of instant, frivolous gratification. Its songs are long and often complex…But the more you engage with music the more rewarding it can be, and Travelling Bright might just be one of the most rewarding albums you’ll hear all year.

Yet another fine addition to the River Lea record label – Irish folk music is in a very healthy state at the moment and with The Hare’s Lament, Ye Vagabonds have emerged as its most accomplished exponents.

The Route To The Harmonium is another outstanding instalment in Yorkston’s body of work, a finely-wrought and elegiac album shot through with moments of real innovation.

Jonathan Day’s Spirit Library is the work of an artist who, whether through the experience of travel or through deep contemplation of his surroundings, has come to terms with his place in the world, and it is utterly beautiful.

It is no overstatement to say that Contradicshun is a masterpiece of shared creativity, the fullest flowering of a partnership that has been nurtured for fifteen years. It is Megson’s most complete album and their best to date.

Across the whole breadth of ‘The Fell’ there is a kind of alchemy at work: The Brothers Gillespie use ostensibly simple musical ingredients to create songs that feel like classics in the making. The Fell shows off British acoustic music in its best possible light.

On Au Cube is a buoyant rebuke of musical conservatism on which Alasdair Roberts is joined by Glasgow-based instrumentalist Neil McDermott and French traditional group Tartine de Clous.

Thomas Blake shares his Top 10 Albums of 2018 including releases from Xylouris White, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Joshua Burnell, The Furrow Collective, Jack Hayter, Kitty Macfarlane, Cunning Folk, Toby Hay and more.

As well as offering an insight into his new album Constant Companion, Cunning Folk talks to us about his influences, traditional music and more…‘Traditional music is living history. I’m joining in.’

There is a weight of history and a longing for a better world on The Young’uns’ The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff – it contains the past and it contains the future. It is a special achievement by an extremely talented group.

It is rare for an album of predominantly traditional material to sound as fresh and inspired as this, and feel both thrillingly contemporary and utterly timeless. Cunning Folk is making some of the finest acoustic music to come out of this country in years.