Albums

On their debut album “Goodnight, Lad”, Sean R. McLaughlin & The Wind-Up Crows defy categorisation, delivering sonic shifts and unexpected moments to revel in.

While Fiona Apple’s drummer Amy Aileen Wood may prefer staying out of the spotlight, her solo album, The Heartening, may put an end to that. Challenging and invigorating, it examines the rhythms of a percussionist in a class of her own.

Avalanche Kaito’s music is like sped-up geological movement, defined by a detailed and often aggressive maximalism. Throughout Talitakum, the fragments pull together in tight cores, resulting in a gripping, uncompromising and constantly engaging album.

Ancestors is the second collection of folk songs from prolific Canadian musician Allister Thompson…what sets it apart are his interpretations -it’s as much a concept album about folk music as an actual folk album.

Swallowtail, Jim White’s and Marisa Anderson’s latest offering, is an album of quiet assurance and power. Shaped through improvisation and musical conversation, it encapsulates everything there is to love about improvised instrumental music.

Arianne Churchman and Benedict Drew’s May is a hypnotically good album. It is a long, involving listen, panoramic in scope but thematically focussed, and it manages to be both celebratory and strange, a nod to our folkloric past and a mesmerising hymn to the present.

While Kevin Coleman’s Imaginary Conversations may contain only three tracks, it is one of the most varied albums of the year so far. It’s a sweeping and stunningly accomplished album, brimming with ideas, and offers a glimpse into multiple potential futures for American folk music.

With Ruth Theodore’s meticulously constructed melodies and literate, open-hearted and relatable lyrics, ‘I Am I Am’ is her finest album to date.

Nick Granata and Dawn Terry are the latest artists to feature on Jacken Elswyth’s The Betwixt & Between series. The series has thrown up a wide array of vital, surprising new folk music, and the latest release is one of its best yet.

Halocline, the debut album from Malin Lewis, our Artist of the Month, is a highly creative and singular forty minutes of music that’s unique in its character and emotion. Clever in its approach and balanced in its execution, in short, it’s quite exceptional.

Come Slack Your Horse! is a true landmark release from Goblin Band. While their music may be rooted in the past, Goblin Band represent a vibrant, exciting, and more accessible future for all who enjoy British folk music.

Canada’s The Deep Dark Woods return with another fine selection of folk songs – Broadside Ballads Vol III. It’s a quietly intoxicating album featuring the warm-voiced Ryan Boldt, his band, and special guest Erin Rae.