Albums

On Nick Hart latest offering, his effortless phrasing, the clarity and simplicity of the song, the voice, the guitar, entrap the listener and pull us into the timeless – then and now – world of the folk song. Excellent again.

Folk Radio UK’s Johnny Whalley headed to Ibiza for Costa Del Folk recently and kept a festival diary whilst there. Read part one featuring Efrén López Trio, Show of Hands, Seth Lakeman, The Outside Track and more.

In the Felice Brothers’ third album, Undress, you can hear some of Bruce Springsteen’s desperately yearning pathos, a Gothic darkness related to the rugged beauty of their home upstate New York, the boundless energy of early punk rock, and a thorough mastery of Americana…

David Weir catches Rachel & Becky Unthanks and Niopha Keegan at Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre on their ‘As We Are’ tour, an unadorned acapella trio performance. An evening which demonstrates not only their breadth of repertoire but the depth of their poetic expression and interests.

Cricket Blue’s lyrics and influences are beautifully couched and lovingly incorporated, resulting in a fresh sounding, true delight of an album that fully deserves to provide the serotiny to see the duo blossom from germination into full radiant bloom.

Already a sizeable chart success and with a  UK tour lined up for October, Sutherland has spent most of his adult inhabiting characters and life telling stories. This is firm evidence that he can do it with behind a guitar just as well as he can do it in front of a camera.

There are songs within songs, rhythms that push both hard and soft, sung with an unorthodox approach that never feels inaccessible or out of place. It is Russo’s mysterious and alluring style that underlines her considerable talent, Something-in-movement is nothing short of a masterpiece.

This is a true portrait of a young performer enjoying the art of captivating an audience and mastering his songs without losing any of himself along the way. Joshua Burnside may not be typical Irish Folk, but he is everything it should stand for, and no doubt will bring it to new places for years to come.

Now performing as a duo The Maes latest self-titled offering is a terrific softly brushed folksy Americana album and as sublime as ever. Go on and treat yourself.

What impresses and resonates most with Alex Seel’s new album is how these nine songs all hang together to create a satisfying whole. It is confident work and a lesson in meticulous craftsmanship resulting in a concise and lean set of songs that are bursting with creative ideas and performed with the utmost care and ability. His best yet.

Led by C Joynes and featuring members of the Dead Rat Orchestra, plus Cam Deas and Nick Jonah Davis, The Borametz Tree is layered and intelligent, finding art and inspiration from many places. This particular result is something that really should be heard.

It may have taken the best part of forty years for this album to see the light of day, but it still feels like something of a landmark release, and credit must go to Fledg’ling for finally making it available. It is a welcome addition to a consistently excellent body of work by one of the twentieth century’s very finest folk singers.