Albums

As The Son Of Town Hall, Ben Parker and David Berkeley have created an album that plays like nothing else you will hear this year. Equal parts care and craftsmanship, joy and sorrow, it is a splendour to behold. As a bonus, watch their video for their new single The Line Between.

Often sailing a stream of consciousness and impressionistic imagery, Intergalactic Sailor is dreamily ethereal and melodically therapeutic in its calming eddies, it’s well worth booking passage across the cosmic seas.

Richard Dawson’s ‘2020’ is a sincere appeal to optimism, and above all else, sincerity is Dawson’s calling card. This is art shorn of artifice, pop against populism, and it just so happens to be one of the defining statements of our times.

With Parallel Line, Tim Crabtree challenges listeners to hear the music that exists within the notes, in the process re-examining who we are and what we think.

While they clearly set out to create a good time, their consummately played approach to a celebration of traditional folk music is every bit as serious and as passionate as the Carthys and Watersons of this world.

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh and Thomas Bartlett have created an album that is seductively dreamlike but sometimes sad, layered like a palimpsest but accessible on every one of those layers. It is unlikely you will hear a better instrumental album this year.

Postcards & Pocketbooks is a fully comprehensive Bella Hardy retrospective and a well-rounded overview of one of the finest folk singer-songwriters of her generation and a useful staging post from which to launch the next chapter.

Curated by Ryley Walker, Imaginational Anthem Vol 9 crams its forty-four minutes with enough musical styles and new artists to satisfy anybody. Study the sleeve notes, seek out the players and have a load of fun with another ace compilation.

This is an album with many highs, with even the more familiar material sounding fresh in the band’s capable hands. Let’s hope this is just a start of their recording journey, as this is a road that’s definitely well worth taking.

Featuring Greg Russell, Ciaran Algar, Josie Duncan, Pablo Lafuente, Evan Carson and Ali Levack, The Tweed Project’s EP mirrors their live performances – musically breathtaking, reflecting their skill, variety and energy.

On his latest album, Mike Oberst explores the rich heritage of traditional Anglo or Scottish-American folk ballads from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Band of Burns share much more with the bard than just their title. Their gift is deep-seated and The Thread stands as a remarkable tribute. The Burns clan grows larger still.