Albums

For their debut EP, daisy, Leilani Patao does things differently, refusing streaming platforms to foster a personal connection. The music is a compelling high-wire act, balancing experimental, glitched-out hyperpop with perfectly structured, dreamy pop-rock. Patao’s immense songwriting talent shines through the lo-fi, grungy production, creating a release that feels both diaristic and wonderfully detached.

Sam Shackleton proves himself an exceptional talent, breathing fresh life into traditional folksongs on ‘Scottish Cowboy Ballads & Early American Folk Songs’, a deeply personal album dedicated to his late father, with whom he used to busk these very songs. “Sam is wrestling music away from Guthrie’s dustbowl and re-dressing it in a seasoned tartan, aglow with heritage and proudly re-rooting it in an unmistakably Scottish soil.”

On How You Been, SML perfect their collaging technique. Tracks sound more complex and intuitive, and they instinctively work a groove, moving from space-age synths to gritty, organic minimalism. Variety is key, from creeping percussion to soft-focus krautrock. This is improvised music at its most engaging and immediate. SML have created another special album, one that forges bright new pathways in American jazz.

Miniseries’ debut “Pilot” is as cinematic as its title suggests. This episodic collection, featuring Angie Gannon (The Magic Numbers) and Doug Morch (Longview), careens through spooky, unsettling spaces while retaining a thoughtful structure. Building from soundtrack vibes to rustic folk, it’s a thoughtful, addictive sonic adventure that will hook the alert listener.

“Normal Town,” The Dreaming Spires’ first album in nearly a decade, finds the band’s love of rock ‘n’ roll romance undimmed. Inspired by Didcot, dubbed England’s “most normal town,” the record mixes nostalgia-fuelled anthems with reflective ballads. It explores themes of escape, alienation, and atomisation, but ultimately celebrates the redemptive power of music and finds pleasure in the ordinary.

Sir Richard Bishop’s ‘Hillbilly Ragas’ sees the veteran guitarist in devilish, free-flowing form. This terrific set of solo acoustic instrumentals subverts the rigid “American primitive” genre with a ramshackle, rhythmic, and improvised approach, adding Indian and Arabic flavours. It’s a “total banger”—vital, super-focused, and creatively brilliant acoustic music at its most exciting and intelligent.

Our ten selections for this month Subscriber Exclusive (one of the perks for those who support our work) include releases from New England’s Old Saw, a remastered “holy grail” of psychedelic Latin-funk, Mélanie Pain, Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band, Thomas Dollbaum, a landmark collaboration that brings together two generations of South African guitar mastery, Lady Queen Paradise, Dartmoor-raised artist Dominie Hooper, Jessica Moss and the incredible singer-songwriter Daudi Matsiko.

Fiddles screech and swirl, a pump organ sighs and groans. Child-Lanning’s dulcimer is indebted to Jean Ritchie, and at points, an autoharp conjures the spirit of Maybelle Carter. A total of ten musicians contribute… and then there are the electronics, the decayed tape loops, the environmental recordings. The individual musical strokes are loose and expressionistic…Weirs’ Diamond Grove is hypnotic, bucolic, meditative, jarring, melancholic, jubilant: an exceptional musical document.

Folklore Tapes visits Gloucestershire and Hampshire. Zandra explores Painswick’s yew tree legend with a beautiful, melancholic and uncanny incantation using ghostly vocals and acoustic guitar. Edd Sanders and Jamie McQuilkin tackle Hampshire with a sustained, organic drone and improvisational textures inspired by church bells. Both sides complement each other and shine a light on the eccentric corners of England, which should be celebrated but are in danger of being forgotten.

on “a little death”, claire rousay creates something that is akin to ambient music, but unlike the majority of what falls under that banner, her music is made for a more engaged kind of listening. There is always something going on around the edges, a constant tension between comfort and disquiet. Tranquil as it may sometimes appear, this is nonetheless music for troubled times.

On ‘Minnesota’, Trond Kallevåg is joined by a crack Norwegian trio: violinist Tuva Halse, drummer Gard Nilssen and double bassist Mats Eilertson. The album expertly balances jazz, folk, and ambient sounds, drawing inspiration from the Norwegian coast and the American Midwest. It’s a deft, creative, and playful recording, marked by mesmerising violin, intuitive interplay, and wonderfully dynamic soundscapes performed at the highest level. It’s also a joy to listen to.

Midlake’s “A Bridge to Far,” their sixth album, is a career highlight of 26 years. The record stands as their most consistent and assured yet, exploring deep themes of hope, change, and renewal. This deeply affecting release blends pastoral folk and soft psychedelia, achieving a spontaneous and grounded groove that is arguably the band’s best work.