Albums

A one room, one microphone recording with no overdubs by John Parish, the music on Tom Brosseau’s Perfect Abandon is redolent of dust bowl ballads or early Sun sides…stripped of embellishment to reinforce the songs.

Out of the circuit for almost a decade, Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman have hit a rich vein of form since their return and Tomorrow Will Follow Today finds the duo at their best.

The atmosphere on the latest release from The Phantom Band is darker and moodier than their previous offering, evoking a twilit landscape haunted by isolation.

Linking two outstanding talents in Jim Moray and Sam Carter, with Sam Nadel, Tom Moore, Nick Cooke and Jon Thorne, False Lights took Folk East 2014 by storm. Salvor is the reason why.

Arooj Aftab’s debut album ‘Bird Under Water’ is a transcendent and an essential listen, this is indeed the sound of the oneness of being.

On his latest solo offering José González harnesses the symbolism of nature to relate his opinions on politics, philosophy and humanity to his audience. A welcome return.

In their 2 years together Skipper’s Alley have already built a presence on the international Celtic festival scene and this debut album can only enhance and widen that reputation.

While wide-eyed rock is the order of the day, Idlewild demonstrate they still have plenty of tricks up their sleeve on their latest offering ‘Everything Ever Written’.

Every so often an album comes along with a truly original sound. Seven Years Late by 20-year old Texan guitar prodigy Hayden Pedigo is one of those albums. Taking influences from traditional American music to the avant-garde.

Gill Sandell and Chris T-T produce an idiosyncratic and iconoclastic celebration of some overlooked musical treasures from the last fifty years with covers of Willie Nelson, Kaiser Chiefs, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and more.

With ‘Love And Logic’ suggesting a band really hitting its stride we catch up with Charlottesville band Sons Of Bill in a Bermondsey pub as they prepare for their UK tour leg.

JD McPherson’s follow up to his Rounder debut is equally rooted in early rock n roll, plenty of driving basslines, punchy limb-shaking rhythms, twangy reverb and the occasional splash of fat sax. It’s a gem.