Albums

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.

The stripped-back ‘Live from the Glass Isle’ not only illuminates what a gifted songwriter Chris Cleverley is but is also a glowing testament to his growing and emotionally nuanced power as a singer and the luminous nature of his guitar playing.

Kingdom Come, Garrett Heath’s second album, is cast in the mould of 60s Greenwich village troubadours, of simple but infectious folksy melodies…a quiet, simple joy.

From the off, Son Volt’s ‘Electro Meloidier’ is brimming with an artistic assuredness. The songs are potent and refreshing; songs that demand to be written will always make for a more intense and rewarding experience as they do here. This is must-hear Americana for 2021.