Billy Rough

As Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening return with their second album, Cloud Horizons, we chat with Kathryn about how the album came about, the shadow of Hadrian’s Wall, mythical magic, the multicultural history of Northumbria, job-sharing singers and more.

On Galargan, The Gentle Good’s wisdom of Welsh folksong and histories is both reverential and contemporary. Combined with his sensitive arrangements and deep, rich, haunting vocals, it is a beautifully accomplished and irresistibly engaging album.

Aptly described as ‘Ancient Northumbrian Futurism’, Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening’s ‘Cloud Horizons’ is an electrifying and incredibly captivating album. In capturing a sound that effortlessly conjures the past whilst simultaneously referencing the present and future, they have created a rather unique and striking soundscape.

Martin Simpson & Thomm Jutz’s ‘Nothing But Green Willow: The Songs of Mary Sands And Jane Gentry’ is a genuinely stunning, life-affirming, and beautifully produced listening experience. It’s an instant classic.

With ‘I See A World’, the Peatbog Faeries have done it again – with infectious rhythms, sublime musicianship, a fine ear for experimentation, and a loving respect for Scots tradition, this is a rousing and breath-taking album – they sound as passionate, eager, and energised as they’ve ever been.

It’s a sensitive, humble, yet skilled arrangement on show on amrwd and one that works incredibly well. Angharad Jenkins and Patrick Rimes’ masterful playing thrills throughout, and the considered compositions constantly surprise and please. It’s a delightful recording and evidence that Welsh folk is in very safe hands.

With such a fine collection of traditional tunes and an inventive and light-hearted set of new compositions, Rachel Hair & Ron Jappy’s Élan is an energising, inspiring and precious delight.

Whimsical yet also beautifully poignant, Penguin Cafe’s ‘Rain Before Seven…’ is a wonderfully exciting, energizing, and thoroughly immersive listening experience. Musically, it is impossible not to be swept up in its charm.

The talented Dallahan return with their fourth studio album, ‘Speak of the Devil’, a taut and riotous blend of vibrant, energetic, toe-tapping goodness – a stirring, striking, and thoroughly gripping listen.

Gnoss’s ‘Stretching Skyward’ is an exciting and invigorating album. Alongside an intoxicating fusion of instruments, there is a well-earned quiet confidence on show, with a soft, subtle touch of Americana filtering through the band’s more traditional Scottish sound; it’s an innovative, accomplished meld.

There is something inherently uplifting about Sam Sweeney’s fiddle playing – it soothes, replenishes, and heartens the soul. Add in Campbell’s electric guitar, and ‘Shapes’ proves a stunning listening experience – fiddle and electric guitar have rarely sounded so breath-taking.

With Before I Knew What Had Begun I Had Already Lost, Jon Wilks proves once again what a stand-out talent he really is. At its soul is the love of song, of collaborating with friends, and of discovering old tunes and creating new ones.