Albums

If Ocie Elliott continue to produce material as gorgeous as their flawless output to date it’s just a matter of time before they’re widely regarded as rightfully belonging to the upper echelon of timeless folk duos, alongside the greats.  Truly lovely stuff.

A compelling listen from beginning to end. Here, the inordinate beauty of Appalachian old-time and chamber music melds together inextricably to deliver one of the most enchanting and satisfying albums I’m bound to hear this year.

The enigmatic wordplay of Nels Andrews’ beautiful 4th album, Pigeon and the Crow, is a creation possessing many of the same qualities as Midlake and Spheeris records. In the field of literary folk music, Pigeon and the Crow certainly is a winner.

Creating outsized sonic landscapes, Girl Skin illustrates an uncanny ability to evoke the grandeur in everyday relationships. Shade Is On The Other Side leaves listeners in awe of Sid Simons’ ability concoct symphonic folk music…homemade masterpieces.

Siobhan Miller’s All Is Not Forgotten is a perfect antidote for these unsettled times. She brings out the best in a musical landscape, from traditional to modern. Along the way, we all share the experiences that help us weather the sorrows and the joys life offers.

As well as offering a career snapshot for the faithful, this serves as a handy enticement to newcomers to dig further into Dean Owens’ catalogue and discover what they’ve been missing.

With Oneiric Formulary, Sir Richard Bishop is certainly not trying to do anything predictable – the result is a roller-coaster of a success. What a crazed, beautiful and brilliant riot of a record.

Call the Captain, the new album from Western Centuries, is a genre-melding, unconventional country outfit, the more you listen the more nuances you’ll find in both the music and the words, heed the call.

Natural Invention is a piece of music that feels thrillingly, frighteningly, beautifully of our time. With the Gigspanner Big Band, Peter Knight has assembled a group of musicians intent on making some of the most important and exhilarating art ever to sit under the banner of folk music.

Jacken Elswyth returns with the sixth in her series of Betwixt & Between releases. Her guest for this latest tape release is Berlin-based drummer Ryan Eyers whose creative (and unshowy) drumming, turns out to be a strangely complementary foil for Jacken’s own contributions.

Well-polished but never sterile, it may take a few plays to seep in,  but its smooth mix of mellow warmth sharp observation has a lingering taste.

It’s good to welcome Georgia back, and her third album is an unobtrusive delight where the alternately lush and sparse conjured textures beguile the attentive listener in their careful response to Georgia’s ever-intriguing lyrical vision.