Albums

So summing up, the long and the short of this review is a hearty, unqualified recommendation for this impeccably packaged disc – a seriously uplifting set from Andy Irvine and his chums. Bravo and encore!

Utah trio 3hattrio dip into the well for this live album which celebrates the 100th anniversary of Zion National Park, culminating in a haunting paean to the power of the landscape and a terrific culmination of a remarkable live experience.

Creating music is indisputably in Edd Donovan’s blood, these songs have solid foundations and were simply waiting for someone with a visionary radar to bring them into the world. An album for people with a taste for beauty, adventure, nature and wonder.

Martyn Joseph was back at The David Hall, South Petherton for the fifth time, a venue and an artist who seem made for each other. Standing under the iconic dome the acoustics seem to lift the singer songwriter’s passionate songs.

It’s been a good year for debut male/female duo albums, the latest coming from Kyle McGonegle and Liat Lis, better known as The Gossamer Strings. Due to the Darkness is a substantial and rewarding album.

The purity and simplicity of both of these albums yield more and more depth with each repeated listen. This is reflective music in its truest sense. The more you listen, the more you find. Excellent.

The Castra Leuca Trio preserve and respect the culture of the past, but interpret in new ways. Premeiro Andamento is a high-class debut album featuring consummate musicianship, seek it out.   

All three songs have that timeless quality. Listened to out of context it would be difficult to tell the ancient from the modern. This is an important feature of O’Neill’s gifts as a singer and musician.

On Bring Us In, the clarity, the harmony and the arrangements offer a good picture of what Marisa, Jack and Davy have to offer – full of style and, yes, quirky but good quirky. Now we can hopefully look forward to the full long-player.

Sahari is a truly captivating release, with melodies that will linger long in the memory.  An album of unbridled optimism in the dream for the end to the struggle and that the world will learn not only to open its heart and mind to the Saharawi, but to all refugees.

Smith & McClennan have triumphed on this debut release, in creating personal music that tells us more about who they are than we’ve ever heard before and suggests they’re only at the beginning of a fruitful musical adventure.

With The Only Ones, The Milk Carton Kids’s return to their close harmony and acoustic guitar approach creates a powerfully intimate experience and one that deserves to be shared.