Albums

Written during the pandemic, Chris Fox’s latest album, In Plain Sight, is witty and wise in equal measure. Joined by Holly Brandon on fiddle, Dan Wilde on banjo and legendary bassist John Parker, it’s his best yet.

Memorial’s debut album is quite simply the most fragile, vulnerable, and intoxicatingly beguiling memorial to broken hearts you’ll hear this year.

Army of Briars’ ‘Made From A Broken Star’ is one of those fabulous (if at times demanding) albums that comes along only once in a very long while. Keep an open mind, and you’ll discover this is a CD to be grabbed, explored at length and cherished – you’ll not hear its like anywhere…

Recorded with guitar player Jim Richardson, the album, Inside Out, is an apt record of the late Andy Dinan’s considerable talent and legacy. Grace Kelly and Michael McGoldrick share their memories in this special album review.

At one point on Canyons & Highlands, Norrie McCulloch says “Every song tells us something about love”. You might not learn something you didn’t already know, but this beguiling album will certainly help bring it into perspective.

Big Ideas, the Edinburgh Americana outfit The Wynntown Marshals’ fourth album is finally here, and it’s a beaut. On the release of their 2010 debut, The Wynntown Marshals were hailed as Europe’s best Americana band. Nothing here suggests anything’s changed.

Tina Jordan Rees’ ‘Beatha’ is an expertly crafted suite of upbeat tunes that raise the spirits and celebrate the small pleasures that can enrich anyone’s life. “…an album of the most joyous, energetic music I’ve heard in a good long while.”

An alluring and beautifully sung album about the timeless vicissitudes and valedictions of love, May Erlewine’s Tiny Beautiful Things understands the heart and soothes the hurt.

With a family history that embraces legendary bluegrass outfit the Whitetop Mountain Band, Martha Spencer has a lot to live up to, but with this fabulous album, she more than does her heritage proud.

Featuring Sarah-Jane Summers, Juhani Silvola, Leif Ottosson and Bridget Marsden, the Siskin Quartet’s ‘Flight Paths’ is an exceptional album. Broad-reaching yet balanced, daring and compelling; I can’t recommend it highly enough.

French duo O’o, featuring Victoria Suter and Mathieu Daubigné, have created a challenging but rewarding album. Touche is quite unlike any other album you’ll hear this year.

Everything on this collection from Luke Daniels and The Cobhers is attacked with such life-affirming urgency… These are songs that have cut across the eras, the sub-cultures and age restrictions, and now, they are hoping to knock down genre fences as well.