Albums

Phillip Henry & Hannah Martin are bringing a fresh new sound to folk music with their debut album Singing the Bones. Every track on the album is exceptional in its own way and it’s both refreshing and a joy to hear such original interpretation of folk music from two young and very talented artists.

The BBC Young Folk Award Finalist Lucy Ward has released her debut album this month titled ‘Adelphi Has to Fly’. The album features tradtional and self-penned songs and her voice shines through the whole album. An exceptional debut!

Marissa Nadler’s fifth self-titled album, and the first released on her own label Box of Cedar, is an evocative, layered aural world…a step ahead in many ways, deftly balancing the mystery of her musical world, so often described as dream-folk, with a weighted frankness.

Bella Hardy’s latest release, Songs Lost and Stolen, finds her exploring new territory where self-penned originals replace her usual traditional folk canon. With some exceptional production from Mattie Foulds and a plethora of leading light musicians this album rockets Bella Hardy to new heights!

The natural and organic acoustic space created by The innocence Mission’s ‘My Room in the Trees’ is a very solitary but warm place to be in. Violin, upright bass, baritone and nylon string guitars offer a gentle ambience to soak up Karen McCullough’s dreamy voice.

Chris Bathgate’s latest release is a record of great joy and pain which neatly couples itself with Bathgate’s cathartic recording process. He has marked himself as an adept lyricist and musician, constructing an alt-country affair tumultuous passion and despair in equal measure, and yet by the end we’re convinced of a little light relief and the thawing of this Salt Year.

Eliza Carthy’s latest release, Neptune, takes her to the pinnacle of a tremendous career, a bright and colourful album that will appeal to long-time fans and virgin entrants to the ongoing Waterson/Carthy legacy!

Galley Beggar are a six piece folk rock band obssessed with the old sound from the likes of Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Nick Drake, Jethro Tull, Fotheringay, Bert Jansch and Pentangle. Their debut album Reformation House is a step forward from that magical period of folk music history.

The Gentle Good is the moniker of Gareth Bonello who hails from Cardiff. His latest album ‘Tethered for the Storm’ is an exceptional album that harkens back to the 60’s folk revival and is reminiscent of the likes of Nick Drake and Bert Jansch.

I Draw Slow’s new album ‘Redhill’ is, without doubt, their best release to date. This original Irish five-piece band have raised the stakes and have come out on top form. Their original musicianship and songs make them stand out from the rest. A very bright future ahead!

Jonathan Day’s ‘Carved in Bone’ is definately in the exceptional league and sets a very high standard that should bring him the much deserved wider recognistion across the folk circuit. This is a great album to get lost within.

While on first appearances an ambitious album, perhaps uncertain of what it wants to be, it succeeds in displaying an expression of sound and an intricacy with detail that shows deft skill in experimentation, something more than making up for moments that don’t quite gel.