Albums

There’s a rugged beauty to Elephant Micah’s Vague Tidings that reflects the Alaskan wilderness…something that not only reflects the northern locale, but the people populating it.

While David John Morris’s lyrics have always flowed from a deeply spiritual place, they have never sounded quite like those on ‘Monastic Love Songs’…they stir with transformative promise with the constitution of his inner country, as Cohen would say, vividly evoking his natural surroundings.

Johanna Samuels’ ‘Excelsior!’ really comes into its own through the honesty with which she discusses isolation and vulnerability. While musically, she’s not attempting to break new ground she may help accomplish something far greater: a kinder world with more compassionate songwriting.

TRÚ are no ordinary folk band, and No Fixed Abode no ordinary album. Their music is dusted with a hint of magic and while it has all the energy befitting a first offering, it bears the stamp of quality usually reserved for seasoned artists.

In short, a poet-troubadour with a conscience who’s an uplifting panacea for times clearly manifesting malady above the shoulders too. Remedies are unavailable, but certainly an equivalent musical vaccination.

There is so much more to be found throughout Axacan, but the overall result is a sprawling, painstakingly created record by a progressive artist that will take many listens to fully digest. Axacan is Daniel Bachman’s most accomplished work yet.

Open and honest, When We Wander finds light and steadfastness in the new responsibilities in Jesse Terry’s life, channelling his influences but always imprinting them with his own signature. Both tender and triumphant, it’s his finest hour yet.

This live album from 2010 is a remarkable one that also illustrates how Khaira Arby had an innate capacity to blend cultures whilst still preserving her Malian roots. As a legacy, it is a more than fitting testament to a remarkable talent.

Old Sea Brigade’s “Motivational Speaking” is a gentle, wistful meditation on the instinctive tendency to cling to the past rather than move forward. Both poignantly sad, yet ultimately hopeful, seeking to embrace motivation rather than be imprisoned by resignation.

Broken Mirror shares kinship with such great albums of the past that its greatest feat might be how it manages to sound so modern… a testament not only to Holley’s fiercely relevant songs but to White’s impressive showing as a composer… deep, complex & formidable, and intensely rewarding.

Toronto-based artist Dorothea Paas delivers a stunning debut with ‘Anything Can’t Happen’, a heartfelt result and a consummate triumph.

The lyrics on Christina Alden & Alex Patterson‘s Hunter, are intentionally thought-provoking while the album’s lightness of tone, together with the often deceptive simplicity of the arrangements, have the power to transport you to the wide-open spaces evoked by many of the songs.