Albums

In what is already shaping up to be quite a year for English folk music, the events of the 20th of June at Cecil Sharp House are very likely to earn a noteworthy place in the annals of folk music history.

In advance of her Artist Of The Month Billing for July we bring you exclusive insight into the superb deluxe double CD version of Emily Barker And The Red Clay Halo’s Dear River.

Matt Berry’s Kill The Wolf, a follow-up to witchhazel plays out like a pagan soundtrack steeped in full-blooded English psych-folk centred around the summer solstice.

With a London show in July Maple Bee talks exclusively to Folk Radio UK about bringing together These Four Worlds, her restless creative streak and life as a music therapist.

Heather Maloney’s self-titled release on Signature Sounds is a defining milestone in her musical career, not so much ambitious as adventurous and one which will reap many rewards.

The Rambling Irishman Kevin Doherty takes time out from Four Men And A Dog to deliver ‘Seeing Things’, a literate solo work aimed at both head and heart and distinguished by fine string arrangements.

Introduced on Folk Radio almost a year ago David Wax Museum finally boost their UK profile with the release of Knock Knock Get Up and shows including Womad Festival coming up.

Stuart Forester’s second album ‘A Yard of Ale’ is a delightful album with lyrics that give the music a strength rooted in empathy for the character portraits they paint.

The partnership between Boo Hewerdine and Brooks Williams is maturing nicely with this second CD Snake Oil filled with toe-tapping songs of the highest quality.

David Grubbs has the intellect, talent, and bullish presence to make north-east London’s post-hipsters quake in their hi-tops. He is joined on stage at Café Oto by Italian pair Andrea Belfi and Stefano Pilia.

Field Report has been several years in the making, and musically it shows. Old and new meet in carefully considered swirls of pedal steel, acoustic guitar and judiciously deployed synths.

Aidan O’Rourke’s beautifully realised third solo album busts boundaries between Scottish folk and jazz, telling the story of the Hotline between the USA and the Kremlin.