Albums

On Stereoptican Gary Lucas and Jann Klose provide dazzling guitar playing and a strong, versatile and vibrant vocal in the service of urban Americana.

Rob catches a fantastic double-header event at Kenilworth Castle with multiple BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners Greg Russell & Ciaran Algar and Will Pound & Eddy Jay, currently riding high on the back of their new album ‘Ignite’.

Following on from her recent EP, singer-songwriter Kelley McRae returns with ‘The Wayside’, an album shaped by a decision to forsake her NY apartment for a life on the road.

Rob Heron and the Tea Pad Orchestra latest album offers a cornucopia of western swing, country ballads, Tom Waitsian instrumentalism and cross-cultural Americana jambalaya goodness.

Starless is a remarkable album that features no less than five of the country’s most talented Gaelic singers, former Blue Nile front man Paul Buchannan and the full musical might of The Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Kitty MacFarlane is a major talent, and “Tide and Time” is a bit of a triumph. Her song lyrics could easily stand alone as poetry but then why would she do that when her ear for a melody is faultless?

A Handmade Life is the latest offering from Jill Freeman on which she explores the Jungian psychology buried in fairy tales; extraordinary in conception, creation and performance she has produced an album full of superb music.

British guitarist Andy Cartwright’s latest exploration is work on the edge of what might be defined as acoustic guitar and anyone pushing the boundaries of the genre this well has to be applauded.

A self-assured and stylish collection of very listenable contemporary folk-roots songs, Fine Line has all the necessary ingredients to become a big crossover success without compromising the band’s musical vision.

Hero & The Sage is a hugely impressive debut from Vancouver-born, LA-based singer-songwriter Tara Beier – a new arrival on the Americana scene that deserves a wider audience.

Gypsy Blues is a firecracker of an album and a testament to Blue Moon Marquee’s damn hard work – who are currently on another (40-date) North American tour, it would seem they have no intention of easing up any time soon.

Eyeland is like nothing else you are likely to hear, unless you have direct access to the future, but beneath the impressive and immersive layers of meaning and narrative, beneath the squall, the surprise and the silence, exists a spirited set of songs that are clearly the work of one of the best and most confident bands in America.