Albums

Siobhan Miller’s ‘Mercury’ builds on the strength of its two thoroughly impressive predecessors, in an album of outstanding quality that delights with its music, and enthrals with its song.

Hide and Hair by The Trials of Cato is something very special. If there’s a more exciting debut album from a folk band this year, then I haven’t heard it. Their energy, originality and assurance draw a comparison to the Incredible String Band.

Holler, the sixth solo album from Amy Holler of Indigo Girls is a love letter to her home, written with affection, but the ink sometimes run with tears. 

I eagerly look forward to the chance to see Hoodman Blind in live performance where I’d wager they cast an intense spell. Even on the evidence of this EP, though, they impress greatly with their presence and imagination. A real discovery.

Modern Man is by far Benjamin Folke Thomas’s best album yet on which he balances honest confessional and sardonic wit like an expert tightrope walker.

On Weary Traveler, the latest offering from Americana trio The Deep Hollow they sing of love, love lost, untimely death and personal reflection. Misery may not fuel the entire album but, as some may say, misery goes with the territory.

The Furrow Collective are right at the very top of the game when it comes to traditional music. No-one else is as innovative and it is no exaggeration to say that if the future of folk music sounds like Fathoms we are in safe hands indeed.

Allt finds Julie Fowlis, Éamon Doorley, Zoë Conway and John Mc Intyre at the top of their game. That they gel so well musically and allow each other the space to explore new ground says an awful lot for the selfless ethos in both traditional music, and the musicians themselves.

Gently pulsing, pinging and twittering synths, acoustic guitars and Scott Orr’s soft, crystalline voice float through a homemade lo-fi haze.  This analogue approach and the album’s laid-back, dreamy pace mark Worried Mind as a beauteous, melancholy treat.

Starfall is a natural follow-up to Slow Moving Clouds debut, on which members draw inspiration from Irish and Nordic traditions. An intriguing and compelling album.

Recorded live at the Crosskeys’ Inn, the oldest thatched pub in Ireland, Irish banjo player Stevie Dunne is accompanied by Gerdy Thompson, Brian McGrath, Cyril O’Donoghue and John Joe Kelly on what is a warm album, filled with bags of enjoyment.

Bella Hardy showed her folk roots were well-watered during her performance at Cecil Sharp House as part of her Hey Sammy acoustic tour. A broad and diverse set blended both her traditional and contemporary influences. A wonderful concert.