Albums

Sarah McQuaid has clearly held true to her own musical vision and it’s to be hoped that Walking Into White is the album which will bring her the wider commercial success she so richly deserves. Don’t miss her UK & European tour which is currently underway.

Synthetic Hues is a melting pot of vigorously performed tales belying Vin Garbutt’s 67 years. It sounds fresh and wise at the same time, something only a man with years on the road can approach with any sincerity. You just hope the younger generations is listening in with an ear for the future.

Kelly McRae teamed up with fellow musician Matt Castelein in 2011, their new EP Easy On My Mind is a simple, uncluttered backwoods folk affair, involving little more than acoustic guitar and her crystal vocals, beguiling from the off. Regularly compared to Welch and Rawlings, the latter should take that as a real compliment.

Paul heads to London’s ‘The Hospital Club’ for the album launch of Stornoway’s new album Bonxie. The songs show a marked progression from the first two albums; more inventive, more confident and rounded, as are the band onstage.

Memphis Dawls debut album Rooted In The Bone is one of the year’s most engaging and rewarding collections of folk-Americana, one that flows fluidly between styles and genres, all bound together by the immaculate harmonies and lead vocal spotlights.

Allison Moorer’s ‘Down To Believing’ is a brave walk through a turbulent thunderstorm of emotions in search of the hope that flickers like a lightning rod ahead. Allison delivers a record that confirms her place amongst the very best of America’s singer songwriters.

Sleep On Sleeping On sees the welcome return of The Woodbine & Ivy Band. Whilst tempting to call this album one of the most exciting and inventive folk albums of recent times it should be celebrated for what it is: a brimming cauldron of musical ideas with a surprisingly coherent end product.

If I Was A River is the latest offering from Willie Nile, now 66. It features 10 sparsely arranged introspective acoustic numbers with Nile accompanying himself on piano. Not just any piano either, but the same Steinway Grand he was playing in the same studio as Lennon the night he was shot. Maybe the melancholia of that evening seeped into its keys.

Combining dizzying instrumental flair with a maturing songwriter’s voice Incidents & Accidents strips Dan Walsh’s sound back to its core and is wholly satisfying as a result, a perfect blend of great playing, so finely realised it is at times simply breathtaking, with a gift for telling a story that gets straight to the narrative heartbeat, making for an exceptional record all round.

Formerly known as Joyce The Librarian, Martin Callingham recently released the excellent ‘Tonight, We All Swim Free’, one of our featured Albums of the Month. Here he gives FRUK an exclusive insight into the album’s creation, those involved in its making and shares his thoughts on mysterious art of songwriting.

10 years on, Tom Heyman’s finally made a third album, one that showcases his fine work on acoustic, electric and slide guitars as well as his slightly grained and rasped baritone. We also have the European Video Premiere for Black Top, a B-movie inspired spoof made with director Steve Hanft and featuring a surprise guest from Dengue Fever.

Asleep At The Wheel call on old friends and new with a younger generation drawn to re-flame the torch for western swing and their ongoing tribute to The King, Bob Wills. Featuring: Pokey LaFarge, The Avett Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Willie Nelson and The Quebe Sisters and many more.