Albums

On The Neon Gate, Nap Eyes songs drink deep at the wells of philosophy and literature, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it from a cursory listen. They seem to create a different niche for themselves with every new album; long may it continue.

Snowgoose’s third album, Descendant, is said to offer  “a reflection on the beauty and pain of impermanence”, but their intoxicating music is a far from transitory experience. Outstanding.

With strong, solid songwriting coupled with immaculate, eclectic music, all beautifully performed, Eric Bibb’s In the Real World comes with the strongest recommendation.

Jon Doran and The Northern Assembly’s debut EP gives clear notice that this impressive folk trio are overflowing with ideas for the production of imaginative, entertaining music – they hold great promise for the future.

Described by Hal Willner as a timeless album, Mary Lee Kortes’ stunning concept album, Will Anybody Know That I Was Here: The Songs of Beulah Rowley, is grounded in themes and emotions that are both universal and deeply personal.

‘You Are Not A Stranger Here’ is one of the highest peaks Danny & The Champions Of The World have attained thus far, and simply one of the best records you’ll hear this year.

Amy Speace’s ‘The American Dream’ is as universal as it is personal, it reminds us that while life may not get easier, we can become more resilient against its blows…she’s still one of the greatest artists in Americana today. Outstanding.

On More Break-Up Songs, Darren Hayman’s ‘New Starts’ debut, he weaves a personal mythology of love and loneliness. Capturing the minutiae of what happens in a relationship, the results are sometimes humorous, sometimes tear-jerking, and never less than entertaining.

The strength of Mairearad Green & Rachel Newton’s distinctive boundary-pushing “Anna Bhàn” doesn’t lie in nostalgia…it is history in the very living sense of the word, ripe and ardent, and not afraid to look forward.

A welcome return to a solo platform and a springboard to new musical paths, The Winter Yards reaffirms Steve Knightley’s amply deserved reputation and status as one of the foremost names on the English folk scene.

The Instruments was a project centred around cellist and composer Heather McIntosh. Released in 2008, Dark Småland has both blissful and melancholic moments, with vast vistas to lighten the soul.

Jake Blanchard has made a union with the divine on Fermentation. It’s an album with the whomp of Elkhorn and the godliness of Tuluum Shimmering. Think of sound waves being dosed out to herbal plants. Close your eyes and drown in its wyrd bliss.