Albums

As before, on Ports of Call, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Hass make the fiddle and cello sound like they were made for each other. The absence of guests and the overall more relaxed pace on the album allows them to stretch the boundaries perhaps even more than previously.

Alex Rex (Alex Neilson) is an artist with a singular, uncompromising vision that he expresses in multifaceted and always fascinating ways. Vermillion, his solo debut, is both daring and formidable. An insight into ‘a complex and inquisitive musical mind.’

Find The Ways is a genuinely original album. It is rare for an album to successfully bridge the gap between the contemporary and the antiquated, but Allred and Broderick do it so well that you don’t even notice the joins.

Steamchicken are a band with attitude, and their latest offering, ‘Look Both Ways’ is a great example of their energy and style. The whole album positively fizzes with technical ability and joy.

Dan Walsh’s latest offering, Verging On The Perpendicular, is the perfect balance of authenticity and flair. Without ever ignoring the past, it points the way to an exciting future for banjo music.

London-based singer-songwriter Robert Sunday releases two mini-albums via Rif Mountain collective. The songs have a beguiling quality dealing with the central concepts of memory, love and time.

New Lore, is Sean Rowe’s fifth album, a fine showcase for his throaty, rumbling baritone and moodily affecting songs of loneliness and longing, augmented throughout by piano and strings. An album that infuses itself into your heart and soul.

After a tantalising introduction to Curse of Lono last year, their debut album ‘Severed’ is finally here. It plays like an album from a band who have been developing their performance for many years and it’s one they can be immensely proud of.

Rodney Crowell’s ‘Close Ties’ is open and honest, apologetic and self-recriminatory, poignant and rich in the wisdom of hindsight and the years. Also featuring Roseanne Cash, Sheryl Crow and John Paul White, it’s not to be missed.

Donegal sisters Karen, Lorna and Joleen McLaughlin return as The Henry Girls for their sixth album ‘Far Beyond The Stars.’ Recorded and produced by Calum Malcolm in Donegal, it’s a truly stellar album.

Future Melancholy Pop Music is a record to be savoured, slowly and patiently, and gently allow yourself to get drawn into Johnno Casson’s unique lyrical and musical universe.

Cracks in the Room makes the most impressive use yet of Twelfth Day’s winning way with a lyrical hook and their quite exceptional instrumental skills. It is one of the most rewarding listening experiences to be placed before an audience this year.