Albums

Deep Time and Narrow Space is a well-crafted and well-balanced release from Molly Evans. She writes to suit the strengths of her beautiful voice perfectly, it is charming and lyrical, and the accompanying instruments add to the pace and depth of each piece. A real delight.

Ladilikan is a bold fusion of the musical traditions from the West courtesy of Kronos Quartet and those of Africa, via Trio Da Kali on which Western tempered scale instruments blend seamlessly with traditional African instruments, creating a wonderful musical hybrid that is engaging, fascinating and irresistible.

With Street Cries, Ashley Hutchings revisits his 2001 album and produces some powerful new lyrics and, with the help of his collaborators (including Steve Knightley, June Tabor, Dick Gaughan, Cara Dillon and the late Vin Garbutt), he creates a collection of powerful and unique performances.

Now based in New York, Ron Pope has released a dozen albums in the past ten years, ‘Work’, his thirteenth, was a conscious decision to recreate the music of any bar band worth their beer money, drawing on the experiences and people in his life from the age of thirteen.

Those who reach out and discover Steve Adey’s latest offering – Do Me A Kindness – will find themselves richly rewarded by its sonic inventiveness and exploration and Adey’s cathedral vault vocals.

Merry Hell’s ‘Come On, England!’ EP offers a rallying cry against the rising tide of nationalism and fascism and a call for tolerance and equality. Plus, watch their video for the title track.

New England singer-songwriter Allysen Callery is back with an outstanding new release. Prince’s Pine is a five-track EP, a bright sounding recording with flashes of welcome darkness.

On Stu Larsen’s Resolute, the ten songs float finely from the speakers, his voice an intimate postcard from abroad while the arrangements are nimble and sure footed, an attractive blend of confessional singer/songwriter and pop balladeer.

Bright Phoebus is a strange but wonderful beast of a record: a collection of entirely self-penned material from Lal & Mike Waterson who were previously known exclusively for performing traditional folk songs acapella via The Watersons. A splendid package that will restore the album to its rightful place in the permanent catalogue.

The Spirit Moves is the fifth album from the Nashville-based Sean Scolnick aka Langhorne Slim, originally released in 2015 the album is getting a UK reissue to coincide with his August tour.

It’s tempting to say that we can expect great things from Ryan Young in the future. His quiet success to date and open, exploratory style is evidence of an impressive, budding talent. That future has already begun to open up, though. Ryan Young’s debut is a remarkable and fascinating album that no fan of traditional fiddle should miss.

The Gigspanner Big Band are a unique musical proposition; they are taking folk music down new and enthralling paths. They are also one of the most exciting live bands you are likely to see this year (or any year, for that matter), and this recording documents their energy, skill and hard work brilliantly.