Albums

On Emily Portman’s fourth solo album, she weaves a tapestry of complex lyrical themes and intricate musical arrangements. Of all the singers and songwriters in British folk music, few have the ability to encapsulate what it means to be human in the way that Portman does. “Dominion of Spells” is a real and vital piece of work, something to be cherished.

Fly The Ocean In A Silver Plane, Mark Nelson’s latest solo album as Pan•American, plays out like the sensation of crossing cities in a little aeroplane — each track feels like its own journey to a nameless destination, but looking out the window, there is a sense of safety, comfort, and calm. A mesmerising body of work ruminating deep from within.

On Old Spot (II), fiddle player Rowan Piggott and banjoist Joe Danks continue exploring American Old-time traditions with a discernible difference in the sound — a suggestion of minimalism around some songs, and a precise nature to the playing. The duo’s second album is a significant leap forward — a very accomplished set from two players who clearly love their craft.

Baltimore, the second album from North Carolina duo Tacoma Park, finds John Harrison and Ben Felton in more focused and confident form. Formed from lengthy remote sessions and edited with considerable discipline, the album balances acoustic Americana with electronic strangeness — simple melodies blending seamlessly with electronica and dance beats across forty cohesive, deeply enjoyable minutes.

Frog have always been brilliant at exposing the emptiness and hollowness at the heart of things, and filling it up, at least temporarily, with their own brand of heartfelt Americana. Eight albums in, and that continues to be the case. Frog For Sale, with its Beatle-baiting title and condensed, pining, piano-oriented sound, is a welcome hit of literate indie wistfulness from one of America’s most consistently impressive bands.

Kris Drever’s “Doing This For Love” is an artfully crafted meditation on the unglamorous reality of 4am alarm clocks and quiet sacrifices. Infused with northern grit, it stands as a powerful tribute to the working lives it depicts. These songs are born of struggle but elevated by love, each with the potential to secure a lasting place in the folk canon.

“…an album that flits so easily between past and present, whose songs encompass fluttering beauty and quietly looming presences.” The Little Winters is an album worthy of the clàrsach, with all its historical and cultural importance, and Anna McLuckie, with her clear voice, poetic songwriting and precise, fluid playing, has announced herself as one of British folk music’s most formidable talents.

With its cast of crows and references to wild rain and leaden skies, Natalie Wildgoose’s ‘Rural Hours’ is music for the high moorlands and windswept hills. The loose structures and unorthodox arrangements of her songs remain, but they are brought into focus by a small ensemble. Her songs are intentionally ephemeral — part of their appeal is the charged silence they leave in their wake.

Jim Moray — folk music’s errant prince — returns with Gallants, his eighth solo album. Traditional ballads are teased into stunning new shapes, the self-penned Three Gallants fits seamlessly among them, and the imposing Omie Wise drips with pathos and tenderness. A stunning closer backed by Maddie Morris and the Trans Choir seals an uncompromising, deeply immersive collection.

Félicia Atkinson and Christina Vantzou’s “Reflections Vol. 3: Water Poems” is a breathtakingly beautiful world of hushed, swooning sonics and suggestive spoken word. The duo describe personal moments but present them as shared worlds, as if exploded by magnification. Its every moment rings with care, craft and impressive sonic exactitude. An utterly compelling musical journey, out April 10th via RVNG Intl.

Juni Habel’s Evergreen In Your Mind is an absolutely wonderful record. Eleven songs of comforting timelessness built on homely nylon guitar and subtly deployed production — from the perfection of Stand So Still to the mesmeric suspense of Gitarhum. This is 41 minutes of sumptuous music that cleanses the mind and reconnects you with the things that matter in life.

Brown Horse’s third album, Total Dive, is a bigger, bolder beast than anything they have attempted before. Snarling guitars and weary pedal steel carry songs steeped in isolation, loss and defiant dark humour, with nods to Neil Young, Jason Molina and Uncle Tupelo running beneath the scuzz. A pinnacle, reached in just three albums.