Albums

So Much To Defend wears its heart on its sleeve. Wood’s delivery is unhurried and deliberate, his lyrics are unashamedly earnest, and his concerns are moral and humane. He has created a wise, soulful set of songs that should see him consolidate his place at the top table of British songwriters.

Furnace, the sophomore solo album from newgrass outfit Trampled By Turtles frontman Dave Simonett, offers a collection of deeply personal and open-nerved songs couched in memorable, infectious melodies, delivered with an aching tenor and echoes of 60s country-rock.

Geoff Lakeman steps into the limelight at 69 to release his debut solo album. Featuring a host of special guests including the Lakeman brothers, Cara Dillon, Kathryn Roberts and nearby neighbour Nic Jones.

On the first weekend of this year’s Celtic Connections, Scottish fiddle quartet Rant introduced 4/4, A Project for Projection, in which the band work with a group of twelve young fiddlers from across Central Scotland to create a performance with a full-on fiddle sound.

On ‘A Burdensome Year,’ Benjamin William Pike’s songs offer instant musical and lyrical appeal. The positive messages that shine through on the album offer a strong sense of hope, and a belief in the therapeutic power of creative expression.

For their latest album, husband and wife Americana duo The Grahams bring along some friends including Alvin Youngblood Hart, The Milk Carton Kids, John Fullbright, The Norman Sisters and both Cody and Luther Dickinson and many more. UK Tour February – March 2017.

This month sees the releases of ‘Endless,’ the first widely available solo guitar album from Richard Osborn, a first-generation American Primitive guitarist who studied with Robbie Basho in the late 60’s.

Another Day comes from a musician who has been writing and performing songs of the highest quality for the best part of 50 years featuring some of finest work to date.

Hannah Ashcroft is a singer/songwriter now based in Manchester. Her debut EP, The Quiet Kind, displays the confidence of a seasoned traveller who has learnt her craft on the road. Definitely a name to watch for…let’s hope an album is to follow soon.

Workin’s Too Hard is a warmly inclusive and rather special record, with a feeling of back porch intimacy. The distinctive and memorable music and songwriting will leave you wanting more. We hope they get together again soon.

On An Dà Là, Mànran excel at distilling the energy and excitement of their live shows into studio sets that not only mirror the experience but also make room for intricate musical virtuosity that provides the very finest detail. That detail, in turn, provides the album’s lyrical and vocal content with a platform that supports enthralling performances…one to be proud of.

On the title track of her new album Courtney Marie Andrews sings “some people take a little more time to grow”; after standing in the shadows of success playing with the likes of Damien Jurado, the time has come for her to be bathed in her own spotlight.