Albums

Ultimately, Emiliana Torrini & The Colorist Orchestra’s ‘Racing the Storm’ represents collaboration in its richest form; and if there was ever an example that genre is dead in modern music (and that it can yield outstanding results), this is it.

Recorded in a spirit of communal joy, Dougie Poole’s ‘The Rainbow Wheel Of Death’ positively struts into view…an album staring down dark moments with good (gallows) humour via the shared strength in music. 

With ‘The Wedding Above in Glencree’, Daoirí Farrell confirms his stature as one of the finest Irish traditional singers. From the first note to the last, it is a gem of an album.

For those open to hearing Kologo sounds being taken down experimental routes, King Ayisoba’s frenetic Work Hard, as with his most recent releases, is worth the deep dive. 

Exhilarating right through to the very last downbeat, Tilham proves a brilliantly fiery and tremendously satisfying set that embodies par excellence, the “inimitable, driving, drone-based wall-of-sound“ that will forever be associated with the Blowzabella name.

The songs on Jonathan Day’s ‘Sakura’ are characterised by a profound philosophical insight and the importance of music and nature. But most of all, it is an album about love and the small but important connections between humans in a world that can feel overwhelmingly big.

With “Gum Card”, The Mining Co’s fifth album, Michael Gallagher returns to his normal haunts of folk, Americana and country while also illustrating that the path less taken is where the magic lies. 

Until The Rivers Run Dry is John Blek’s most romantic, relaxed and readily accessible work to date. It finds him at the peak of his powers, although we expect more great things to come.

Jaimee Harris’s 2020 Red Rescue was an auspicious debut, but Boomerang Town is a far stronger, more reflective, more emotional and masterful album that firmly announces her as both a voice and a writer of the finest grade.

Benjamin Dakota Rogers’ ‘Paint Horse’ is a plaintive offering, veined with the sensibilities of an accomplished storyteller and steeped in the folk music of his roots.

Some albums simply deserve a vinyl edition, and Wes Tirey’s No Winner In The Blues is certainly one of those. All in all, this is a song writer deep in the big muddy, whose album has rightfully found its home on the vinyl range. 

Ron Sexsmith has been making music for so long that he makes it sound effortless. With ‘The Vivian Line’, his laid-back vibe presents a soothing listening experience – like snuggling up in a favourite blanket and letting your troubles wash away.