Albums

With Blue World, Anna Tivel has crafted far more than simply some reimagined versions of her songs, this is a world with its own beauty and captivating intimacy.

Situations may be dire, and faith may sometimes be in short supply, yet Canyons to Sawdust by Bryan Away announces the arrival of a man whose talent cannot be ignored. He has found ways to create mini-masterpieces that taken as a whole become a truly cathartic experience.

Rather than dealing in musical assimilation, Joe Bourdet takes the work of 70s legends and update them for a new generation of fans. Meadow Rock comes from a time when musicians played because that was the only way they could express what was inside them.

Before dropping his 100th album, Ashley Hutchings releases Ninety-nine Impressions, a spoken-word album with musical accompaniment from the likes of Blair Dunlop, Jacob Stoney and more. It’s an exceptional album and quite unlike anything he’s ever released before.

Listening to the sharply directed words and empathetic sentiments on this unassumingly lovely album, there is little doubt that Murray McLauchlan is already wide awake, and his hourglass keeps perfect timing.

Their most accessible album yet, The Little Unsaid’s “Lick The Future’s Lips” is an album of variegated musical moods and songs that peer into the gloom but also spark a flicker of light in the potential to change both the world and ourselves.

On David Kitt’s “20”, he has lovingly rerecorded a score of his favourite songs. As demonstrated throughout, Kitt is a master of his craft and while this is essentially a career retrospective, it is a stunning musical document in its own right.

The line-up on ‘I Am of Ireland’, reads like a who’s who of the mainly Irish but also Irish American and British folk music world. There’s plenty of enjoyable music here and if it guides you back to Yeats’ poetry, well, that’s a worthwhile bonus.

What makes Willing so special is the way Lady Nade refuses to take the obvious steps – she also sings beautifully and has a band that understands exactly what she needs and they deliver 100%.

In the Half-Light is a brief but assured, deeply enticing snapshot from Joshua Burnside and Laura Quirke of how their two talents intermingle to form a single cohesive vision. Hopefully, this is a prelude to further collaboration…one to be eagerly anticipated.

Dean Owens and his various collaborators have explored a variety of ideas, moods and sounds within the overall desert-Americana landscape, building eager anticipation for what the full album project will eventually encompass. It’s been a captivating journey.

On One (and Driftless) Left Vessel has found a way to mine two seams simultaneously, providing us with a literate worldview, while melding much of the album within a natural framework that has never been realized before.