Albums

Gathering is Josh Ritter’s best collection so far of fractured and fearful characters who are battling the elements and their own inner demons. The album itself is a roller coaster of emotion with Ritter mining a rich seam of Americana music.

Johnny shares some his many highlights of this year’s FolkEast festival including The Young’uns, Jon Boden, Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, Martin Carthy, Hughie Jones, Hannah Sanders and Ben Savage, LAU, Dan Walsh, Will Pound, Damien O’Kane and many more.

On Rosie Hoods ‘The Beautiful & The Actual’ there are songs of “life, and death, love and betrayal, beautiful melodies and hauntingly sad lyrics.” A debut album of pure delight.

On The East Pointers latest album, they blend the unexpected and traditional, ‘What We Leave Behind’ is certainly a breath of fresh air that blows straight from Eastern Canada.

Gwyneth Glyn’s ‘Tro’ is less an album and more a journey: to the quiet, longed-for corners of Wales, but also across the world, taking in West Africa and the Asian subcontinent. And it is an inward journey, an exploration of love and its many meanings and guises. As a whole, it is a poetic and deeply moving experience.

With passion, respect, and immense musical talent, Shake the Chains have created a powerful and inspiring album, which deserves to be heard on the streets as well as indoors.  Listen, sing, and go and change the world.

Buford Pope’s Blue-eyed Boy is first class throughout. It may be three years since he recorded any actual new material, but if he’s  got any more like this in the archive, there’ll be no complaints if he decides to dust off a few more. 

Bone On Bone is a powerful declaration from a mature observer of human nature. It’s gutsy and incisive with Bruce Cockburn delving into his musical roots and his personal concerns and ladled with beaucoups of blues and folk.  On the strength of this, he well deserves his induction into The Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

Ryan McKasson and Eric McDonald teamed up to release their first full-length album, Harbour. The narrative power of McDonald’s vocals joins the darker riffs of McKasson’s fiddle for an album with pluck, depth, and good reels aplenty.

Steel Sheep describe their music as ‘original 21st-century folk compositions with an egalitarian approach towards melodic and rhythmic roles’. Their latest offering, Trucker’s Tan, is a challenging recording which will reward repeated listening.

It is Jack Rutter’s ability to live and breathe these songs and invite listeners to do the same that elevates this majestic work to something very special indeed. Hills is a vital, enthralling record which showcases his storytelling.

Unfinished Business isn’t a title that hints at unfulfilled musical ambitions. Rather, it confirms that, on turning 70, Paul Brady still has plenty more to offer. Everything about Unfinished Business tells us that he is likely to remain, for some time yet, at the very peak of his powers.