Albums

★★★★★ Anna and Harvey Elias moved from Yorkshire to a rural setting in the English Midlands since which they have been influenced by both the music and the ethos they discovered in the local folk scene. These influences have been brought to light in their debut album.

★★★★★ Gudrid Hansdóttir’s work is a stirring mix of contemporary classical music and rural inspired folk, combining songs of English language with bewitching fables in her native Faroese tongue, an insular Nordic language spoken by fewer than 50,000 people.

Tassili offers existing fans of Tinariwen more of what they love while embracing influences that are sure to bring them to a wider audience. In returning to their desert roots, Tinariwen have succeeded in shaking off the two most potent symbols of their origins – the gun and the electric guitar, yet still affirm their right to exist as a desert people.

★★★★★ Cocos Lovers are a band of huge scale and huge sound whose compositions are a heady concoction of something for everyone. Read our Elephant Lands review.

★★★★★ Martin Simpson’s latest album, Purpose and Grace, is in many ways the epiphany of his career. It features a stunning array of artists including Richard Thompson, June Tabor and Dick Gaughan. A classic! You can preview the whole album for one week on Folk Radio UK!

★★★★★ Benjamin Francis Leftwich’s latest release Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm feels like an album better left for background listening; moments of beauty and odd lyrical observations that grab but never quiet hold for long enough.

★★★★★ Johnny Boy Would Love This…A Tribute To John Martyn is a new compilation of covers featuring Beck, Snow Patrol, Beth Orton, Lisa Hannigan, Vashti Bunyan, Bombay Bicycle Club and more.

★★★★★ Black Coffee & Stephee Pie is a collaboration between a guy (Black Coffee & Cherry Pie) from France and a girl (Steffaloo) from California. Their Spin EP contains great dreamy electronic rock.

★★★★★ Stephen Malkmus and his current band, known as the Jicks have released their 5th album titled Mirror Traffic. Beck is on-board as producer and with 40 odd years experience between them something good had to come of it all.

★★★★★ 100 mile house are husband and wife duo Peter Stone and Denise MacKay and multi-instrumentalist Scott Zubot. Hollow Ponds, their second album, is about escape, finding home and settling down.

★★★★★ 100 Acres of Sycamore sees Fionn Regan returning to his acoustic folk roots but with a greater depth and intimacy on this album. A definite winner.

Sam Brookes’ debut album has echoes and intonations reminiscent of Tim Buckley and John Martyn, while his intricate finger-picking style is instantly recognisable as his own, standing far above his peers.