Thomas Blake

A body of work that stands as a testament to the powers one of the most underrated singers to come out of the British folk scene, and if there is any justice it will attract a whole new generation of admirers.

Alasdair Roberts is responsible for some of the most boundary-pushing folk music of the last twenty years, a trend that continues on this latest collaboration with Brad Gallagher, Bill Lowman, one that’s full of warmth and unassuming experimentation.

With songwriting like this it is hard to believe that it has taken Osborne so long to begin committing her own material to tape. We can only hope she doesn’t stop there.

On Already Home the Rheingans Sisters not only showcase their diverse repertoire and refined skills but also demonstrate an ability to incorporate threatened or obscure musical forms into their own evolving style making this not only a beautiful and exceptional record but an important one.

The ability to turn a stream of mundane details into something inexplicably heartbreaking, with little but a softly strummed guitar as an accompaniment. This is Hayman’s gift – the ability to elevate the quotidian to heights that are almost sacred.

To Run The Easting Down is both beautiful and immersive. The fact that it was made by two artists on opposite sides of the Atlantic is testament to the power of collaboration, and a sign that such collaboration has a bright future.

London folk group ‘Stick in the Wheel’ have combined the influences of skiffle, punk, and folk in their debut album ‘From here’. This is high-energy, politically switched-on folk music and it is one of the most vital recent additions to the English musical tradition.

Formed by Ian Ross and featuring members of Spiro and Cocos Lovers, Eleven Magpies is one of the most refreshing albums of instrumental folk you are likely to hear for a long time.

There is something older even than music at the heart of Cannell’s compositions. It is something inexplicable but profoundly beautiful, and it has resulted in another triumphant album.

The ragged quintet comprised of fiddler Alastair Caplin, singer-songwriters Scott Cook, Nathan Ball and Jez Hellard and double bass maestro Nye Parsons have turned the domestic gig into something of an artform as they demonstrate on ‘Live at the Ley’.

Often tribute albums can be overly reverent or lacking in musical coherence. Remembering Mountains successfully avoids both of these pitfalls. In fact, the only disappointing thing about these songs is that we will never get to hear Karen Dalton singing them herself.

For a record steeped so long in the history of mountain music, Anna And Elizabeth is unexpectedly and endlessly varied. This is a rare album that is as intimate as it is ambitious and as idiosyncratic as it is reverential.