Albums

Transforming moments from her life into songs that we can all relate to, Alela Diane’s Looking Glass reveals a songwriter whose depth is undeniable and whose performances create unforgettable memories.

While ‘…And Take The Black Worm With Me’, the new solo album from One Leg One Eye (Ian Lynch of Lankum), is not for the faint of heart it is certainly worth taking the plunge: its immense depths are as emotional as they are musical and conceal a haunting beauty.

With Sorrows Away, The Unthanks have graced us with their most extraordinary record to date. It is a tonic to lift the spirits and marks a momentous moment in the career of one of the greatest folk bands in the UK today.

Defined as Mediterranean Minimalism, Deniz Cuylan’s Rings of Juniper journeys to spaces of calm where he creates musical sketches of beauty, grace and grandeur.

On ‘A Fast Running Train Whistles Down’, Thomas Bull shares his passion for the ‘Dust Bowl Troubadour’, bringing the timelessness of Woody Guthrie’s words and politics to a new generation.

Ben Calvert’s latest EP ‘Inside Outside’ focuses on mysticism, religious figures, icons and symbols as he continues to prove to be an intoxicating singular talent.

Nothin’ Lastin’, the long-awaited new solo offering from Hal Cannon offers a song cycle that leads from the fear of impermanence to contemplating what we are missing – an exploration towards solid ground.

A more expansive album than her last, Loose Future marks something of a new journey and beginning for Courtney Marie Andrews.

Saltlines is a massive, ambitious and highly unusual project; the fact that it feels perfectly judged at every moment is down to the sheer excellence of Gigspanner Big Band’s musicianship and the touching, clear-eyed nature of everything Raynor Winn writes or speaks. It is a constant delight. 

Six Out Of Nine is a limited edition EP release from Julie Murphy in which she re-interprets three American standards…all are gems and peerless performances.

Impressively, with KIN, Sharron Kraus has managed to knit the two threads – seriousness and strangeness – together into one of the most rewarding, accomplished and unexpectedly moving albums of the year.

As well as being a clarion call and a beacon of defiance, Mali Obomsawin’s ‘Sweet Tooth’ is one of those albums that utterly defy expectation or convention – it occupies its own universe, arriving from leftfield to blow your mind.