Albums

The variety and quality of Old Blind Dogs latest album pretty much demanded I write about each track…it has reignited an evangelical flame; Knucklehead Circus is an album that can change lives.

These two discs will cause a lot of head-scratching as people try to figure out why they’ve missed the glories of Fruit Bats. For those that haven’t, there’s also plenty of delights in store.

Le Vent Du Nord continue to champion the vibrant and eclectic culture and music of the Québécois. 20 Printemps demonstrates how their music has continued to develop and places them at the helm as one of the very best proponents of this genre of music.

Brad Barr’s ‘The Winter Mission’ is a complex recording with densely structured pieces entwined with almost eerie sparseness. It is a carefully considered and intelligent album featuring riches that need to be given plenty of listens and plenty of time. It will certainly reward you.

Jana Horn creates the aural equivalent of what a novelist writes, exposing the flaws and the heartbreak that reside in each of us. Optimism may be the answer, but there are going to be a lot of mysteries along the way.

I don’t believe Johnny Coppin has ever sounded better, and River of Dreams should be well received by established fans and new listeners alike.

Martin Harley, Daniel Kimbro and Sam Lewis deliver a laid back album of country-blues tunes, twelve self-penned songs filled with great wit and humour. This is acoustic Americana at its very best.

Maurice Louca’s ‘Saet El Hazz’ is experimental and uncompromisingly modern, and yet the reaction it elicits feels timeless and instinctual, playing on our love of suspense and our capacity for joy in a way that only great music can.

A teacher by day, Ben McElroy seems to be mastering his own set of lessons on How I Learnt to Disengage from the Pack. Reengaging with the old, he has created something truly unique.

Produced by James Elkington and featuring a number of special guests including Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Casey Toll and Libby Rodenbough, Good and Green Again is a spacious and spell-binding offering from the inimitable Jake Xerxes Fussell.

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.