Featured Albums of the Month

It is the combination of attention to detail in every aspect, plus a great idea and considerable skill from a reliably exciting pair of musicians, that results in 365 being an excellent piece of work from the ground up that gently bewitches the listener with subtlety and pathos and lasts in the mind well after the final note has rung out.

The Rheingans Sisters’ powers of songwriting and arranging have reached a new peak, they have become one of the most formidably talented duos around. In Bright Field, they have created an album bursting with worldly joys and shot through with intimate sorrow and wisdom.

Improvisation and invention meet the listener at every turn of ‘Well Met’. Knight and Spiers have created a musical document that should inspire future generations of musicians to engage with Britain’s folk dancing heritage, and the beautiful, mysterious tunes that can be found within that heritage. 

Lucia Comnes opens Held In The Arms with a hearty welcome, closes it with a warm embrace and all the way through delivers assured, beautifully crafted, American folk. Although there are songs here that have emerged from shadow, it’s still a journey into the light – and that light is a warm, welcoming glow.

Diverse, innovative with plenty of surprises, Extralife is an engrossing album and a fulfilling listen that feels like it was truly made for the sake of music. For the devout fan of indie folk, Darlingside has found an engrossing niche.

Way Out I’ll Wander, the latest offering from Hannah Read, is a fine achievement: listening to each of its songs is like watching the snow settle in an exquisitely crafted snow globe, revealing an image of pristine clarity.        

There are big projects, there are gargantuan labours of love, and then there is this. The Self Preservation Society is an ambitious vinyl collection of songs from the late 1960s and early 1970s performed by the likes Eliza Carthy, Teddy Thompson, Marry Waterson and many others.

New albums from Beth Nielsen Chapman seem few and far between, but when they do arrive they’re solid gold. Hearts Of Glass is no exception. Her decision to bring in Sam Ashworth as producer has fostered a new setting for her music, one that offers her engaging lyrics room to breathe.

John Oates began his career as a folk/blues musician in Philadelphia in the 1960’s, before turning to the “blue-eyed soul” sound that defined Hall and Oates. Arkansas finds him returning to his roots with a special focus on his hero, Mississippi John Hurt.

There’s far more to Undersong than the time Salt House spent recording on the tiny Hebridean island of Berensay, with seasoned producer Andy Bell. Undersong is a highly accomplished album of wonderful music, that singles Salt House out as a trio of exceptional talent.

What Sam Carter and Jim Moray have created with Harmonograph is fittingly detailed, truly collaborative, varied and often beautiful. It is the work of two modern masters in perfect harmony. In the world of folk and roots music, collaborations don’t get much bigger and better than this.

We Are The Wildlife, the solo debut of Brona McVittie whose name has been cropping up more and more frequently in the more expansive and experimental subsets of the folk music world. This is one of the most distinctive debuts you are likely to hear all year.