Albums

Brave Land is an otherworldly and, at times, serene album that seeps deeper into your soul with each unfolding listen; it marks Raine Hamilton as a unique voice and songwriting talent; this is quite literally a landmark achievement.

The Light At The End Of The Line is unquestionably Janis Ian’s finest work in the 47 years since ‘Between The Lines’ and, if it is indeed her recorded swan song, she bows out on an unequivocal high.

Across the 16 minutes of Rhona Macfarlane’s “Closing the Window”, she offers a much-needed moment of pause. Despite its themes of loss and regret, it looks to the future with a great sense of optimism and hope, a sentiment as comforting as it is timely.

For Lonesome Weary Blues, an album of covers and traditional tunes, Daniel Bachman’s acoustic is again the star of the show. The music sounds joyous and the picking is confident and precise. It’s a beautifully balanced album, unpretentious and life-affirming, from this ever-creative musician.

On Dodging Dues, the latest offering from Garcia Peoples, nothing is exactly what it seems. It is an album quite unlike anything else you’ll hear this year, an example of a band that is consistently trying to find the next doorway to the stars.

Eliza Gilkyson’s ‘Songs from the River Wind’ is an ode to simpler times, a life shaped by the love of the land…a truly wonderful evocation of the foundations of her heart and hearth that transports you to the rivers and hills it so beautifully celebrates.

On ‘Age of Apathy’, Aoife O’Donovan’s songs are delivered in a way that makes you want to give them time and attention. While it’s a personal record, it echoes all our own straits of the past two years and a positive look to the future.

Since they made their album debut back in 2010, Police Dog Hogan have been building a reputation as one of the country’s finest live bands and folk-country acts. Overground is their finest hour yet.

Tompkins Square’s release of Bola Sete’s live shows at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle is an indulgent and immensely satisfying collector’s piece, packed with music and literature, including interviews with Carlos Santana and Anne Sete, plus essays by John Fahey among others.

Paring things down to their essence, what Michael Hurley does on Time of the Foxgloves is establish that the truth is where you find it. Hurley’s brand of truth should never go out of fashion; it is timeless.

As far as tribute albums go, they don’t come much better than this. Nancy Kerr’s ‘The Poor Shall Wear the Crown‘ is a heartfelt and tremendous album that shines a bright light on the poetic work of Leon Rosselson.

Aistear, the debut album from Irish harpist and concertina player Aisling Lyons, is full of music that has a joy and peace about it, and its great strength lies in that it is gentle on the soul.