Albums

There are big projects, there are gargantuan labours of love, and then there is this. The Self Preservation Society is an ambitious vinyl collection of songs from the late 1960s and early 1970s performed by the likes Eliza Carthy, Teddy Thompson, Marry Waterson and many others.

A joy for genre purists and roots novitiates alike, this is among the year’s finest debut albums and assures Dattani a place at the same table as those that have both influenced and fuelled his love of the music he plays.

Neon may be an album of night, of place, of colour and light. But it is also an album of contrasts, contrasts that are subtle, contrasts that are hidden in the words and contrasts that look into the emotional light and dark.

Make Way For Love was born at the end of a longtime relationship with fellow musician Aldous Harding. A break-up album drenched in melancholia, Williams’ songs are incredibly well-crafted reflecting both the personal and universal.

It’s taken 32 years to come up with an album that fully lives up to the euphoric promise of The Weather Prophets’ Almost Prayed, but those prayers have finally been answered with Pete Astor’s One For The Ghost.

Maria catches Sierra Hull live at Celtic Connections…There can be no doubt that Sierra Hull is a genuine rising star, and it will be fascinating to see what direction this hugely creative, charming and assured young talent will decide to take next.

New albums from Beth Nielsen Chapman seem few and far between, but when they do arrive they’re solid gold. Hearts Of Glass is no exception. Her decision to bring in Sam Ashworth as producer has fostered a new setting for her music, one that offers her engaging lyrics room to breathe.

Solo | Duo | Trio is the next best thing to actually having been there and a persuasive reminder that, whatever format he works in, Luke Jackson is one of the most dynamic and exciting live performers of his generation.

Go Dig my Grave is an unsettling album of almost painful beauty and an impressive exercise in restraint and understatement. Dark, moody, eclectic: a small masterpiece of sombre beauty.

Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Texas by Yorkshire parents and now resident in Sheffield, Ash Gray trades in Texan alt-country. The catchy hooks, Gray’s soft-toned cosmic cowboy vocals and the infectious tunes are a treat for the ears.

On Wolf of the Cosmos, Bonnie “Prince” Billy pays tribute to a fellow minimalist – Norweigan vocalist Susanna Wallumrød. This is a touching homage and another worthy addition to Bonny “Prince” Billy’s already vast body of work.

John Oates began his career as a folk/blues musician in Philadelphia in the 1960’s, before turning to the “blue-eyed soul” sound that defined Hall and Oates. Arkansas finds him returning to his roots with a special focus on his hero, Mississippi John Hurt.