Albums

Open Guitar (Volume One) marks a return of sorts to a simpler sound for D.C Cross, celebrating peace through acoustic mastery. Blending improvisation with composition, the album offers spacious, meditative soundscapes. From the urban nature-infused Antwerp Kangaroo to the epic NEVER GIVE UP OR IN., Cross displays a lightness of touch that proves calm can be found within chaos. A welcome, honest gesture.

Honed by high-profile support slots, Glaswegian songwriter Iona Zajac delivers a fiercely feminist and dynamically shifting debut. Bang traverses dream-pop, folk minimalism, and moody alt-rock, channelling the raw intensity of upsetters like PJ Harvey. Zajac is a songwriter with important things to say and a willingness to say them loudly and with a laser-like focus. Bang is a remarkably accomplished, statement-making achievement.

Our latest recommendations include an orchestral meditation on the American women’s suffrage movement, a dizzying joyride through the golden age of Thai popular music, Congolese rumba by Docteur Nico, Will Guthrie’s experimental percussion, and rare archival blues by Allen Ginsberg (with cameos by Bob Dylan and Don Cherry). Plus, Estonian wetland soundscapes to sun-drenched Laurel Canyon folk, from cosy winter solstice hymns to the sophisticated grooves of 1970s Ethio-jazz.

Mikey Kenney’s latest album, “Tiny Little Light,” is a bold, big-hearted triumph, balancing traditional fiddle music with the more experimental, idiosyncratic side of folk. Liverpool-based Kenney crafts a soundscape that is both intimate and expansive. From the village-folk energy of “Scarecrow Festival” to the rocking “The Dish and the Drain,” the irresistible interplay between Kenney’s fiddle and guest musicians make this a remarkable, smile-inducing release.

The final volume of Jacken Elswyth’s essential Betwixt & Between series features singer and multi-instrumentalist Elspeth Anne and the historic Welsh male choir Côr Meibion Gwalia. Anne offers a bleak, beautiful midwinter landscape of drones and dark carols, while the choir provides lo-fi, spirited wassails full of strange magic. It is a fitting conclusion to a project documenting British folk at its most raw and boundary-pushing.

Mysterious UK producer U maps the rural history of Archenfield in this ambitious new album. Blending ambient textures, field recordings, and plunderphonics, U moves beyond simple folk music into a complex sonic collage. From the hauntological piano of “Urchins” to the chilling folklore of “Black Vaughan,” the album is a labyrinthine exploration of time, memory, and landscape that is constantly changing and profoundly engaging.

Chicago-based trio Glyders feel complete with drummer Joe Seger joining Joshua Condon and Eliza Weber on Forever. Regarded as their first true band album, it captures electrifying energy honed through relentless touring. Blending assertive riffing with old-school tunesmithery inspired by classic rock masters, these eight tracks offer a high-voltage ride from futuristic glam to electric country jangle, marking an exciting, stable new chapter for the group.

Matthew Broadley’s debut as Greet, I Know How To Die, is a genre-defying journey, a link between the uncanny and the everyday, a bridge between two worlds. Anchored by an eerie harmonium drone and folk-horror aesthetics, this is a hugely impressive debut that doesn’t shy away from difficult musical and lyrical subjects.

Recorded live in Montreal, this essential 10” vinyl split from Carbon Records/The Annex Blues Society offers two exhilarating, distinct sides. Side A features Sam Shalabi’s intricate, fast-paced solo oud improvisation, blending melody with technical mastery. On the flip, Liam Grant and Mike Gangloff deliver a crisp, energetic duo performance of “Salmon Tails up the River,” transforming Grant’s original solo guitar piece with intuition and drive.

Completing his solo trilogy, percussionist Joe Westerlund moves away from loose improvisation toward sturdy, irresistible grooves on Curiosities from the Shift. Inspired by the foundational clave pattern, this record weaves a rich tapestry of metallophones, electronics, and deep bass. It is a treasure trove of rhythmic exploration that feels both meditative and energetic—a euphoric, detailed album that demands and rewards repeated listens.

Broadsides is Weston Olencki’s sound diary of a grand tour through the southern United States. Drawing on the long history of the broadside as social commentary, Olencki blends traditional folk forms with experimental sound art. From the timeless prelude of a railway station to an epic, transformative, post-minimalist take on “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” this album is a bracing crystallisation of that journey.

One of the most wonderfully warped Ceremonial Counties tapes yet: The Clare Voyants explore the mystical and musical elements of John Clare’s life via a collage of free folk, found sounds, traditional melodies and spoken word, while The Universal Veil take inspiration from Horace Harman’s Sketches of the Bucks Countryside and produce something that sits between Wicker Man psychedelia and Ghost Box hauntology (and is arguably more mind-bending than either).