Albums

Fans of the original will appreciate the upgrade in sound, extensive sleeve notes and extra tracks on Steve Ashley’s Family Album Revisited. For those looking for a slice of vintage folk-rock from one of Britain’s finest songwriters, you’re sure to be welcomed into the family.

Johnny Whalley shares some of his highlights from this year’s Wickham Festival which went the extra mile in delivering an incredible lineup to an audience that clapped, cheered, sang and danced, showing that live music could, once again, be enjoyed in a muddy field.

While Ben Bostick’s “Grown Up Love” is rooted in a very personal relationship and set of events, there’s a universality of experience to touch the heart and soul of anyone who’s found themselves faced with similar situations, heartache and the need to find light amid the darkness.

Alex Rex’s aphoristic approach to songwriting means that every line he writes sounds like a defining statement, but on Paradise, those statements come together (albeit in a ragged and even contradictory way) to form perhaps his most rewarding piece of work to date.

Aidan O’Rourke’s Iorram is a truly magical listening experience, one that, for all its outward quietness, is bursting with ideas…Even without the context of the film it accompanies, this masterful document has a vividness that is almost visual in its own right.

Recorded and produced alone, Maarja Nuut’s ‘Hinged’, is an album of exploratory playfulness, enshrined in a strong original approach that’s hard to relate or compare to others. In part, this is where her strength lies…and not knowing where she will take her music next adds to that attraction.

Shawna Caspi’s “Hurricane Coming” is a sincere offering, bursting with sentiments and heart-on-sleeve emotions that will resonate with many. It’s her most personal set of songs and best album to date.

On Josienne Clarke’s ‘A Small Unknowable Thing’, the songs are so direct, showing an immediacy born of frustration and inspiration. Unshackled creative freedom screams out of every song…ripe with raw artistic expression combined with music of surefire melodic and dramatic purpose.

Mellow down with Ric Robertson’s smokey vocals and let his soulful, country-tinted melodies carry you along. Carolina Child makes for a sweet listen.

A far cry from the often politically charged tub-thumping anthems of his day job with Merry Hell, Neil McCartney’s “Memoirs From A Crooked Road” gently grows on you the more you hear it, laying down a carbon footprint that’s well worth walking in.

Adam Holmes has long been one of the country’s most talented and impressive vocalists, with Dreamweaver he takes that step further to being one of the finest songwriters in the UK today. Dreamweaver is a truly heart-warming listen and a formidably affecting and potent release.

Taking turns both tender and turbulent, John Francis Flynn’s “I Would Not Live Always” is bracing, unpredictable and without a doubt one of the most deeply affecting folk debuts of recent years.