Honest, in-depth album reviews by KLOF Mag – championing and curating intelligent, uncompromising voices in contemporary and experimental music since 2004.
Albums
by Bob Fish
As the Lost Brothers, Oisin Leech and Mark McCausland have created a disc that subtly shifts moods while creating a framework as comfortable as their Irish hometowns of Navan and Omagh. Their most mature and satisfying works to date.
by Mike Davies
McCambridge has cultivated a distinctive musical arboretum within which the emotional panorama and insightful perspective afforded by A Northern View has resulted in a powerful and compelling album, as well as one of the best musical responses to Brexit to date.
by Thomas Blake
Andromeda, like its predecessor, is a difficult, brilliant, rewarding snapshot of human turmoil…the stature of this formidable album will continue to grow even as the scars it describes begin to heal.
by Mike Davies
Over the past four albums, the California sextet Dustbowl Revival have served up a steady supply of Dixieland jazz, swing and Depression-era folk songs, but, for their fifth, they’ve charted a new direction, drawing on roots-rock, soul and even funk.
by David Weir
Never before have the many strands of Sam Lee’s work come together as they do on Old Wow. Featuring a remarkable cast of players, Old Wow is his most direct, urgent and moving record to date.
by Dave McNally
20 years on, Michael McGoldrick and his band return to Celtic Connections to perform Fused, locked into the groove, they stayed there like they’d never been away from the Old Fruit Market in Glasgow. Plus Michael talks us through the album, track-by-track.
by Bob Fish
The Accidental Falls is the construct of five musicians who have a clear handle of what their music is all about. Eyelids play with care and passion, making it clear they are deserving of a much wider audience.
by Mike Davies
The Unraveling is Drive-By Truckers first album in just over three years. It has a lot of political ground to catch up on, embracing as it does all of Trump’s presidency to date and the unravelling of the nation in its wake.
by Mike Davies
After a six-year hiatus, Kirsty Almeida returns with Moonbird, a gorgeous album with first-class song writing, immersed in a warm suffusion of light and positivity. Breathe deep.
by Bob Fish
More than simply a Kingdom In My Mind, The Wood Brothers seem to have established their own kingdom where carefully crafting great material leads to albums that stand the test of time.
by Bob Fish
Odd West is an album that charms listeners rather than bludgeoning them into submission. New leaves of sound open themselves up to listeners upon repeated playing. The subtlety of McMahon’s music details a master class from an artist who revels in his craft.