Albums

Red is the second in the Echo Bloom’s three colours trilogy, described by frontman Kyle Evans as ‘country/shoegaze’ with the songs telling stories and painting pictures in black and white.

Aidan Moodie and Graham Rorie release their debut album as Gnoss, one that demonstrates their musicianship and how well they combine as a superb duo.

The Longing Kind is a milestone record, both in terms of encapsulating Maz O’Connor’s recent personal journey and offering tantalising views of potential new directions on her musical road ahead – recommended to anyone looking for an insight into what makes a great contemporary folk record.

Our Song of the Day comes via a new video from The Owl Service for Living By The Water, a great cover of Anne Briggs’s darkly visionary opus which features on their latest album ‘His Pride. No Spear. No Friend’.

Marlon Williams’ decision to embark on a solo career now bears first fruits with this eponymous stylistically diverse debut, he’s touring Europe and the UK in April and on the evidence here he should be something special.

For ‘Summer Isles’, Mairearad’s taken what seems like a whole new approach to writing, a wealth of new influences and woven a warm, finely crafted tribute. It’s as enchanting as the islands that inspired it and as full of riches as their history.

The songs on ‘No More Lamps in the Morning’ are, for all their apparent restraint, some of the most compelling and haunting of Josephine Foster’s career.

In 2, The Gloaming meet and exceed the expectations encouraged by their debut. It’s another enthralling, captivating interpretation of Irish tradition. For some reason it’s all rather emotional – that emotion tends to be joy, frequently mixed with wonder.

Astar is an album that truly reflects the journey that Breabach have been making over the last few years, incorporating the influences brought home from their travels it demonstrates their ambition, maturity and broadened horizons.

Findlay Napier returns with an EP follow-up to his Very Interesting Persons album released last year with new songs dedicated to Harry Houdini, Glasgow’s East End and more.

Applewood Road is a polished yet rootsy record which which manages to cover a comprehensive selection of the benchmarks of the Americana genre, from country to bluegrass, rockabilly to country blues and a number of points in between. This is sure to find plenty of fans!

From the opening track The Owl Service offer a triumph of execution against expectation if ever there was one, and a challenge that sets the bar for the remainder of the disc. Invigorating, bold, uncompromising and honest! If this is their final release then it’s a fitting one.