Albums

On Declaration, Australian folk duo Kate Burke and Ruth Hazleton demonstrate how less can be more, this is a both a very welcome return and an enticing introduction to the duo’s embarking upon new paths down a familiar route.

Skorsa: The Riddle of the Earth is a great showcase for Susan Grace Bates’ undoubted talents as a musician and an arranger with a keen ear for bringing together different strands of traditional music in this impressive debut.

Christopher Paul Stelling’s latest offering showcases both his lyrical and guitar skills whilst updating the American roots traditions and capturing the present zeitgeist. As he urges us to, “breathe it out, lay your burdens down to rest”, it’s hard not to pay attention.

Fickle Fortune is the eagerly anticipated debut album from Robyn Stapleton, one that builds on her reputation already garnered via the prestigious BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award and points towards a very bright future ahead.

Somewhere between the doomed romanticism of Tennessee Williams and the pithy, blue collar day to day Something More Than Free finds Jason Isbell celebrating the ties that bind us all.

On Dubl Handi’s latest release the playing is exemplary throughout, both Hilary’s melodic banjo and Brian’s unusual percussion captivate, fascinate and keep a firm grasp on the listener’s attention to the end.

Into the Sea is Dean Owens’ fifth solo album, one in which his roots are represented through stories and tales from the streets and hills of Scotland setting the scene of a charming Scottish landscape. If you’ve not heard it you can also enjoy a live session recorded exclusively for Folk Radio UK.

The ragged quintet comprised of fiddler Alastair Caplin, singer-songwriters Scott Cook, Nathan Ball and Jez Hellard and double bass maestro Nye Parsons have turned the domestic gig into something of an artform as they demonstrate on ‘Live at the Ley’.

Read part 2 of our festival review of Gate to Southwell which includes video performances from The Urban Folk Quartet, Coco and the Butterfields, BOC and Mànran.

Further West is the third album from husband and wife duo Hungrytown. Bringing together English and American folk traditions it may not be the most optimistic of albums, but it most certainly is one that gets into your pores.

Living up to its title, London Love Songs is a finely etched, beautifully written and recorded series of portraits that detail Sadie Jemmett’s life and loves in the capital city.

Don’t Weigh Down the Light is Meg Baird’s fourth solo album, her first since 2011’s Seasons on Earth and, while her distinctive guitar playing and unique voice are still present and correct, the record marks a significant stylistic change.