Albums

‘The Next Chapter’ is the latest offering from Connla who hail from the cities of Armagh and Derry. It’s an album where panache, energy, and style abound and it needs to be listened to with the same care and attention that has so obviously gone into its production. 

This is absolutely primo Canadian roots music, entirely relatable, emotionally rewarding, and if, at the very least, it fails to gain a Songwriter of the Year nomination for the 2019 Juno Awards, it will be both bewildering and an injustice.

Yarrow Acoustic Sessions is a bold and tender piece of art; current and timeless. It takes songs heard before into new and exciting dimensions with cultural integrity and authenticity.

Subtlety and grace abound in this album. There is something about voices in harmony that make you feel good – and Landless have this to perfection. There are no airs and graces, just beautiful harmonies, their sound uplifting and spiritual, even ethereal.

‘Places’ is a variable blend of delicate subtleties that will draw you in, and before you know it, leave you in a daydream-like state while as it plays.

Steve Gunn and John Truscinski are longtime collaborators and their latest release Bay Head evidences a well-developed relationship between the two – a dreamy escape, a series of sounds and atmospheres to get lost in.

Communion is an excellent solo debut by an artist who is bringing the rich tradition of Korean folk music into the modern age. Stark, hypnotic, minimalist, full of rich hidden beauty.

The Turbans create a highly danceable stew of different musical styles from all over the world-“manywhere” as the band call it – played with fire and conviction, and first-rate musicianship.

Molly Drake was a songwriter of vivid vision and an author of strange, calm, ambiguous poems which deserve to be remembered on their own terms. This release will go some way towards making sure that happens.

Connecticut singer-songwriter Jesse Terry returns with his fifth album ‘Natural’. Featuring a collection of duets with his favourite female singers it’s an incredibly soothing album – a natural remedy to ease away the stress at the end of the day.

Thom Ashworth leaves us wanting more on his latest EP ‘Hollow’, but it is one of those rare occasions when, having heard it for the first time, you want to listen to it again and again.

Richard catches Josienne and Ben in Leicester – “there is a new maturity to them – the melancholia is still there, the introspection and self-reflection survive, but the control has shifted and a new path is being explored.”