Albums

The first of what promises to be a varied set of EPs, Music For Exhibition & Film finds Aidan O’Rourke in visionary mode. Music to file under electronic meditations and could be described as visionary in that it plays on your mind’s eye and promotes visions and as such lives up to its title admirably. The mental movie is yours for the making.

Emily Barker’s ‘The Toerag Sessions’ is a masterclass in the art and craft of songwriting and an instructive and insightful record by one of today’s leading singer/songwriters. A record to be cherished and played again and again; The Toerag Sessions is the very definition of essential listening.

Singer and songwriter Samantha Whates has announced the details of her new single Trees & Gold / Icicle which is scheduled for release on Melodica Recordings on 13th April. Samantha worked with Will Powers and Joseph Eckworth to produce the accompanying video for Trees & Gold, watch it here.

Like other albums that have been wrought from painful experiences, Carrie & Lowell is disarmingly beautiful and uplifting because of its origins, not in spite of them. Stevens has managed to do that rare thing which many artists strive for: render a personal experience in all its richness and ambivalence in a way that feels vivid and universal.

Once again there’s a strong indie pop sensibility informing the accessible, highly melodic tracks on Bonxie, though it’s less eclectic than its predecessor. Instead there is more of a direct connection with the summery, folksy roots of the debut, not least in rekindling their love affair with the shanty – and then there’s the birds.

In approaching your music with the sangfroid of the accomplished musician; not everyone gets off on clever, but Lindsay and the Flatbellys make Ionia sound like a regular Saturday night down at the bar. Same again, barman.

James heads to St. Mark’s Church in Dalston to catch a very special evening with Sam Lee and friends as he kicks off the first night of his Temples Tour Album Launch for The Fade in Time. It turned into a very memorable evening as you can read here.

Their third album, The Ghost In Our House And Other Stories, finds Merry Hell at the rebel heart of folk-rock adding real sophistication to their high energy good time mix. As they say on their website “Our pleasure is to please: let the audience be the acid test and let the music speak for itself…”

Kings of the South Seas is a mesmerising album of interesting contemporary interpretations that provides a worthwhile recounting of the lure of the sea and the lore of the whales and the sailors who pursued them to their ends. As a whole, it provides a powerful reminder of the extremes that were tolerated in the search for oils before the discovery of mineral fuels.

Simon heads off to London’s Sebright Arms to catch New Zealand based Indie-folkers Streets of Laredo plus we have an excellent and exclusive bedroom demo from the band for ‘Need A Little Help’ taken from their current album Volume I & II which was a Featured Album of the Month on Folk Radio UK.

Breda Mayock has the voice and her self titled album the songs of enchantment, beautifully played and arranged this is music that creates its own serene, inviting world. It cuts through time itself and rearranges the world around you in blissful harmony, it’s absolutely entrancing from start to finish. Pick up a copy and treasure it.

Having left his job and moved to New Zealand to live a frugal and solitary life, Nick Harris began dedicating almost every waking hour to honing his craft and it shows. The Tall Trees is a fascinating album that deserves to reach a wide audience. With an appearance at Glastonbury already confirmed there seems every reason to think that it will.