Albums

We live in strange times, in an even stranger world. And the music Chad VanGaalen creates on World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener is a reflection of that. That he is able to capture all the joy and weirdness makes the album that much better.

These days positivity can be in short supply, which is one of the things that makes Crys Matthews new collection Changemakers nothing short of incredible. Matthews puts it all on the line, speaking words of hope at every turn.

Mirry skirts the edges of hauntology – there is the definite sense of a lost arcadia, a nostalgia for a past that never existed, or perhaps only existed in Mirry’s own almost hermetic world. Mirabel Lomer’s unique talent is finally given its due.

In Clifftown, M G Boulter perfectly captures the poetry of everyday life in a muted, fading town. Stay awhile and let its poignancy flow over you. Its quiet grandeur will gently seep into your soul. A thoroughly intoxicating listen.

A 50th Anniversary reissue of a classic – For an imperfect perfect glimpse into the past, and for its paradoxical timeless quality, succumb to the spirit of love, either, like me, again, or for many of you, for the first time. Excellent – and pass me that joss stick.

Heath Cullen’s ‘Springtime In The Heart’ finally gets a full physical release after its digital release last year. It may be springtime in the heart, but Cullen is a master music maker for all its seasons.

Suitably autumnal in musical textures to match the tenor of the lyrics, it may be a few months early but it marks the calendar of the heart with a quiet sense of grace in resignation.

Quarterman’s ‘Carondelet’ album is disarmingly simple and beguiling in its songs of bruised hearts and battered hopes…listen once and you’ll be wanting to listen again almost immediately afterwards.

“We’ve got stars above our head and stars beneath our feet”, sings Meyer on the final track of the self-titled Oka Venga, a fine summation of this stellar album.

Inspired by Patrick MacGill’s novel The Rat-Pit, Gráinne Brady’s “Newcomer” is an engaging listen from the outset. While the album as a whole tells the story of Norah Jones, there’s an equal pleasure to be gained listening to each individual strand that makes up that rich tapestry.

Raised in the Midwest and now based in Nashville, this is Claire Kelly’s second full-length release – “I confess I’d not heard of her before, but on the evidence here I certainly look forward to hearing a lot more.”

The whole philosophy that less is more comes to fruition on Renée Reed. Using the most rudimentary of equipment she is able to spin songs of pure gold. Renée Reed has found a most magical place. We are lucky that she has allowed us to come along for the ride.