Albums

Over the course of forty minutes, in what often feels more like a piece by Steve Reich than disciples of Jerry, Garcia Peoples stake out new territory building on what has gone before while firmly headed toward the future.

Bonnie “Prince” Billy has crafted a disc that sounds comfortable and warm while dealing with the uncertainty of what lies ahead. The here and now is all we have at the end of the day, and that’s more than enough.

With a repertoire ranging from raunchy to raw, wistful to utterly tragic; the show is a triumph from start to finish. Understandably, the applause continues long after Ye Vagabonds have taken their leave.

This is an excellent album in so many ways. Nick and Becki’s own compositions fit well with the traditional pieces and whole works together in such a way that is rare to find. If you don’t listen to this, you will be missing out on a great album.

New Ways is about being in each moment and feeling it to it’s fullest. And it imbues every decision on the disc. Leif Vollebekk has captured time in a bottle, distilling moments with a clarity that captures the essence of each experience.

Available as a limited edition EP, Music/Nature extends the themes of finding hope and meaning amidst an atmosphere of division, and the many forms of fragmentation explored on Atomise.

Horsham showed its true colours with a near sell-out crowd for Skerryvore, there was a buzz around the theatre well before the house lights dimmed and with the band’s appearance on stage, the buzz turned into a roar.

This is more like a coming-out party for an artist no longer content to be one of many. With Not Alone, Birnbaum has exposed himself as a full-fledged artist in his own right, one deserving of a much wider audience.

The Portage, the latest album from Scotland’s Rant is something truly special. At points haunting, at others carefree and light, this is powerful and evocative music that is invigorating, bewitching and beautiful.

Glasgow duo Iona MacDonald and Paul Tasker, mark their fifteenth anniversary as Doghouse Roses next year, but the celebrations start early with this, their fourth album which ‘shines like a beacon’.

Illustrating the creativity flowing between these two performers, Little Common Twist is a very skilfully played and arranged piece of work which balances its many flavours like an accomplished chef.

Dig into the lyrics of ‘Bonfire and Pine’, the new album from Hope in High Water, and you are instantly hit by the weight of human emotion conveyed in the lyrics from childhood trauma to Grenfell, it’s an album of healing and truth.