Albums

Hailing from Manchester, five piece band The Slow Show release their debut album ‘White Water’, a collection of epic yet minimally arranged spin on the Americana genre. Whilst not that well known in the UK this release could mark them out as one of the brightest new arrivals.

Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith is simply that. Two fans pay a beautifully crafted tribute to the late songsmith for the sheer love of his music. One on which the songs are naturally littered with things that you can take to reference Elliott’s troubled and too short life.

Serafyn are a Swiss five-piece folk-pop band, which started off as a busking group touring through Europe, their debut EP ‘Quantum Leap’ has a strength and quiet confidence that is certainly worth exploring.

Lubbock-raised songster Kimmie Rhodes has maintained a pretty flawless output, to which Cowgirl Boudoir, her 16th album, is no exception. A warmingly pleasurable listening experience on which she goes back to her roots for a so-called retro-cowgirl-hippie-chick sound, fusing traditional country with influences from the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Hailing from south Yorkshire, growing up in Sheffield and Barnsley, Richard Kitson has quietly emerged as one of the best guitar pickers of his generation, one who marries blues and folk styles into a fresh new sound. His latest album also proves that he has the songs and a storyteller’s gift. All of us need our time to escape and 40 minutes on ‘Hermit Hill’ is as good a place …

We have a video premiere today from Dan Walsh for ‘Whiplash Reel’, a track that features on his latest album ‘Incidents & Accidents’, one of our featured albums of the month. Dan also shares with us the story behind this tune which is rooted in his obsession with Indian classical music which culminated in an amazing trip to India in February 2013.

Da Fishing Hands is a resounding creative success on a number of levels. Inge Thomson and her collaborators have painted a vivid picture of a changed and changing community. It’s as much an important historical document as it is a powerful artistic statement and, above all, a mesmerisingly beautiful record with top class musicians including Sarah Hayes, Fraser Fifield, Steven Polwart and Graeme Smillie.

So who are False Lights, how were they formed? We have the answers in an exclusive video feature today in which Sam Carter and Jim Moray talk about the formation of False Lights, the other musicians in the band, and how they could have been called “Sam and Jim’s Special Relationship”. How can you possibly not want to find out…

Ryley Walker writes songs that reach deep, and sings them from the depth of his own soul. On Primrose Green he plays guitar like he was born clutching a fret board and has never let go. Driven to perform and hungry for an outlet, he delivers bursts of nostalgia, strongly spiced with passages (not moments) of true genius, through contemporary media and with utter sincerity.

Paul heads out on a Monday evening in North London to visit The Islington to catch Vikesh Kapoor and John Blek who have been touring Ireland and the UK together recently. Their British and American themes blending well over the course of a tour that provides cultural counterpoint for the listener to discuss in the bar afterwards.

Latter Day Sinner is the latest offering from Co.Down singer-songwriter Matt McGinn who has enlisted an impressive line-up of Northern Ireland musicians for this release. He also shares his name with one of Scotland’s greatest songwriters and a leading figure in the British folk music revival of the late fifties. With albums like this, he could easily achieve the same reverence.

Whilst many of his contemporaries have been content to just drop something into the contribution box from time to time Cameron Blake hasn’t hesitated in taking up the banner of 60s protest folk, giving voice to the victims through personal and intimate storylines. This one man show deserves a standing ovation.