Albums

Solas an Lae is the complete package, the tune and the words and the presentation together encompassing the emotional tales of the tragedy of life. To me, this is what makes sean-nós what it is. Excellent.

With Reckless River, Zoë Wren has produced a mature, exquisitely well-crafted album of great beauty and listening pleasure, deserving of a wide audience.

This celebration of twenty years of Kleztory’s commitment to the genre demonstrates that Klezmer is a living tradition and this album portrays it at its absolute best.

The vivacity and sheer exuberance of Diamond in the Rough is hard to resist. Slip on your dancing shoes on, jump in and embrace the vigour; you won’t be disappointed.

It took a hurricane wrecking their studio to jolt them into finally making these demos, originally recorded to just fulfil a publishing contract, available. Who said it’s an ill wind that blows no good?

If you are a fan of Jez Lowe you will love this, as I did. If you are new to his work, then this will prove to be a great introduction and will certainly send you off looking for more.

It’s impossible not to fall a little bit in love with Hemet. Beautifully listenable and rich in some rather gorgeous melodies and emotive arrangements, it is an adept and utterly mesmerizing debut from Niamh Regan.

Allysen Callery’s “Ghost Folk” casts a mesmerising spell, impossible to resist, and yet also conjures subtleties and substance that demand your closer investigation.

Sophisticated songs for a sometimes saccharin season, A Midwinter Miscellany (featuring Ashley Hutchings, Becky Mills, Blair Dunlop and Judy Dunlop) is a Christmas album with a big dollop of class.

A terrific listen for a lockdown winter night, dreaming of a return to outside summer music, hopefully, next year. Make sure Merry Hell are playing where you go; I will be.

An album to savour and immerse in rather than seeking out immediate pleasures, at one point she sings “I’ll never be in season, I’m forever ripinin’”; a heady fruit indeed.

…regardless of the fact that as an atheist I cannot emotionally plug into much of the album’s lyrical content, speaking simply as a human being William Prince’s “Gospel First Nation” is probably the most relatable record I’ve heard all year.