Albums

Idle Threat is an all too brief, quietly triumphant comeback for Benjamin Zyakin who has evidently been through the mill. Just getting these songs out there for all to hear will have done Zyakin a world of good, and maybe, in turn, it will inspire others struggling in similar situations.

Copenhagen fulfils the promise of Benjamin Folke Thomas’s live shows and his two earlier albums. It also represents a bold step forward as a song writer and an important progression as a studio artist. It is, without a doubt, his best album yet.

Neil McSweeney’s latest offering ‘A Coat Worth Wearing’ is reminiscent of the romantic poets Wordsworth or Shelley, but like Blake, he has a darker side, a rebellious streak and a decisive need to push for positive change. It is a rare songwriter that can combine these elements over the course of an album or even a career. McSweeney often manages to do it in the space of a single song.

The Shake the Chains cast along with special guest Martin Simpson gave a performance to lift the most sullen heart in these trying times and to point the way to a better future. With a finale which saw everyone singing We Shall Overcome, the evening was a potent reminder that together we could be harmonious and unvanquishable.

Éilís Kennedy’s new solo album ‘Westward’ features the finest songs from all over the British Isles and from across the Atlantic. The connections Éilís enjoys with her collaborators have helped her share those songs in a memorable and truly enjoyable setting. An exceptional album from one of Ireland’s finest voices.

Chris Foster has the uncanny ability to make everything he does appear easy, assembling or arranging songs like an artisan builds a drystone wall. And like drystone walls, Hadelin is sure to stand the test of time. The album features Jim Moray, Jackie Oates, John Kirkpatrick, Jim Causley & more.

On Son Volt’s latest offering ‘Notes of Blue,’ Jay Farrar homed in on the unique and haunting tunings of Mississippi Fred McDowell and Skip James. Whilst clocking in at just over 30 minutes you’re not left feeling short-changed.

When Team Love signed Willy Mason, they had no idea that another story existed, that of his mother. From an album recorded in 1979 that never saw the light of day to an album of newly recorded material, this double album paints an excellent musical portrait of Jemima James and places her in the spotlight. Hopefully, there’ll be further chapters yet to come.

For his latest release ‘No Rain, No Rose,’ John Craigie decided to make an album about Portland and his life there. He’s joined by a collection of local musicians, among them The Shook Twins and Gregory Alan Isakov.

Trimdon Grange Explosion are made up of four core members of The Eighteenth Day Of May and for those of us who enjoyed that original LP it is a pleasure to report that the new band have picked up pretty much where the old one left off.

On Enter the Kingdom, their fifth album, Frontier Ruckus offers an invitation to visit and explore suburban American homes. It’s a wistful reflection on a vanished past and childhood innocence.

Shirley Collins’ Lodestar performance at the Barbican is fresh and contemporary and avant-garde at times. The assembled musicians are nothing short of brilliant, the arrangements are in turns atmospheric, joyous, stirring and thrilling.