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2 Bottle Bank Band Bottle Bank Band (Hooky Mat HMR 023). Exhilarating and invigorating coming-together of four excel- lent Tyneside fiddlers (Sophy Ball, David Jones, Stewart Hardy, Chloë Jones), perform- ing instinctively in consort on an enterprising repertoire drawn only partly from James Hill, the rest from Shetland, America, ragtime and original compositions. bottlebankband.co.uk


1 Jennifer Reid Gradely Manchester (Cadiz Music REID1842). 24-year-old from Lancashire brings buckets of enthusiasm to the researching and singing of broadsides from Manchester Central Library and Chetham’s collections. A valuable heritage contribution, although Jennifer’s authentic, clog-storming a cappella might be too unyielding for some listeners. www.jenniferreid.weebly.com


The albums – good (2), adequate (1) and bad (@) – which didn’t get the full-length treatment, contributed individually by a selection of our various reviewers cowering under the cloak of collective anonymity.


1 Georgia Ruth Fossil Scale (Navigator 099). With Georgia swapping harp for piano for a more expansive, ambient pop sound, Fossil Scale is still worth a mention for her global view and classy songwriting. Drawing on native Welsh language and landscape to inspire her writing and sound, she also absorbs influences from her journey along the road, including Suhail Yusuf Khan’s lovely sarangi playing. georgiaruthmusic.co.uk


@ The Goat Roper Rodeo Band Cosmic Country Blue (Aveline Recoirds AVREC002). Welsh high energy acoustic trio. Original songs but singing cannot be taken seriously. Americana, Alt Country, Ard Work. www.ave- linerecords.com


1 Jo Lepine & Friends As The Blackbird In The Evening (Rif Mountain RM022CD). Welcome debut solo release from clear- voiced former Owl Service singer, featuring her late collaborator, hurdy-gurdy player Philip Martin (aka Drohne). Dolphins, por- poises and seals abound in stately traditional ballads and a surprisingly apt Country Joe & The Fish cover. jolepine.bandcamp.com


2 Padraig Lalor Light Up (Padraig Lalor). Belfast-born singer-songwriter Padraig Lalor’s work excels in narrative ballad and story song. Light Up has several fine examples from the opening The Jeannie Johnston to live closer Rinty Monaghan the stories related with compelling delivery and lyrical astute- ness. www.padraiglawlor.com


1 The High Bar Gang Someday The Heart Will Trouble The Mind (True North TND 622). Canadian bluegrass band who play and sing exceptionally well and select strong material. However it would be difficult to improve on the originals of these songs and they don’t. This bar is too high gang. www.highbargang.com


2 Kim Edgar Stories Untold (Quietly Fan- tastic QFM004). Edinburgh songwriter-pianist delivers inspiring, thought-provoking original songs conveying both the uplift and heart- break of love and taking their cue from core credos ‘love is the key’ and ‘write what you love’. Intelligent quasi-orchestral arrange- ments impart a dimension of intimate grandeur. www.kimedgar.com


2 Clive Carroll The Furthest Tree (Clive Carroll). The master guitarist’s latest collec- tion, a self-penned feast of breathtaking wiz- ardry, with inspirations taking in Renbourn, Shostakovich, Irish, early music and blues. Throughout, a triumph of musicality over technique, displaying unique control of the pyrotechnics at whatever tempo or mood. www.clivecarroll.co.uk


2 The Bookshop Band That Ghost Belongs To Me(Letterpress Records TBB015). Fifth release of 2016 by bonkersly-prolific English acoustic chamber-pop ensemble. Lov- ingly-crafted spookiness inspired by leading authors including Dave Shelton, Kate Mosse and Ben Okra (who reads from The Age Of Magic) Perfect listening for long Autumn evenings. www.thebookshopband.co.uk


1 Nigel Hobbins Swing Boys Swing (Legin LEGIN 14). Fifth album of primarily self-penned songs by homegrown Kentish talent, inspired by regional and family history (from the Swing Riots to sailing barges and quirky local characters). Rather endearing, chummy and likeably, resolutely homespun, with convivial accompaniment from musician friends. www.freewebs.com/nigelhobbins


2 Various Artists Peru Rare Groove (World Music Network RGNET1347CD). Pablo Yglesias compiled this energetic 20-track compilation, a sweeping assay of the eclectic verve of Peruvian popular music of the 1970s. worldmusic.net


1 Harbottle & Jonas We Shall Overcome (Harbottle & Jonas). Confident debut from young Totnes duo already gaining extensive plaudits. It showcases six of their classy origi- nal songs and a couple of brief instrumentals and two traditional songs, albeit all some- what over-arranged in a bright, breezy, often janglesome folk-pop manner. www.harbottleandjonas.com


1 César Stroscio & Esquina Esquineros (Buda Musique 860295). Argentine bando- neon player Stroscio, backed by acoustic gui- tar (Pino Enriquez) and contrabass (Ricardo Capria), performs tangos by Piazzolla, Dino Saluzzi, Joaquín Mora, Pedro Laurenz, as well as Enriquez and himself; notes in French, Spanish and English. budamusique.com


1 The Hayes Sisters Another Man’s Shoes (Hayzey 0641938679526). Manchester- based sibling trio with a decent line in har- monies; their debut album showcases tasty original writing that straddles the upbeat and the thoughtful, Anglo-Irish folk and rolling Americana, yet despite its virtuous accessibility it can sometimes feel rather over- arranged instrumentally. www.thehayessisters.com


2 The Changing Room Picking Up The Pieces (TCR Music TCRM75068). Second full- lengther from Cornwall-based Sam Kelly and Tanya Brittain, who, aided by a host of musi- cian friends, further proudly and passionately explore the regional-historical themes of its predecessor, and with even greater success. This collective goes from strength to strength. thechangingroommusic.com


1 Richard Moss Back To The Yellow Hills (Richard Moss). Richard’s powerful musical personality, both as singer and guitarist, makes him a strong advocate for the tradi- tional music of the northwest, largely songs by Edwin Waugh (‘the Lancashire Burns’) and 19th Century Blackburn poets. A spirited and extremely likeable set. richardmossguitar.com


Georgia Ruth


1 Charanga Del Norte Tribut’ Ó Ti Tobias (Charanga Del Norte). Grounded in Por- tuguese folk music (voice, cavaquinho, ban- dolim, bouzouki, gaita, violin, percussion), Charanga Del Norte takes the music in new directions with programming, synthesiser and (per the notes) video and performance art. charanga.pt


1 Darlingside Birds Say (Thirty Tigers 696859965845). Massachusetts-based indie- folk quartet whose brightly melancholy, sun- shine-dappled music displays an inventive approach to texture and timbre. Quite redo- lent of classic Beach Boys/S&G and baroque- folk-pop, and, though mercurial in both nature and temperament, manages to achieve a surprisingly intense artistic unity. www.darlingside.com


2 Apple Of My Eye The Beast Below (Apple Of My Eye POLCD005). London-based alt-folk Bristolians with a strong line in origi- nal story-songs release their accomplished new collection chronicling folks facing often insurmountable odds. Imaginative writing, couched in the band’s signature adventurous string arrangements with energetic and char- acterful vocal work – a winning formula. www.applesinlondon.com


@ Kathy Stewart Almost Home (Tree- house Records TR004). American born but long term Scottish resident singer-songwriter with a lovely singing voice, some renowned folkie friends and a peculiar taste in backing vocal arrangements. Her songs, fitting uncomfortably somewhere in the folk/acous- tic pop/Americana triangle, are inherently unmemorable, occasionally naff. birnamcd.com/promo-kathy-stewart/


2 New Celeste A Perfect Sky (Park PRKCD143). Latest set from the second (post- ’90s) incarnation of Scottish folk-rock outfit led by singer/guitarist Iain Fergus, presenting freshly crafted original material boosting the acoustic-driven bedrock with considered jazz- ier and classical overtones; well-upholstered recording and flairful musicianship help win the day. newceleste.com


2 Mellstock Band & Choir with Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band Awake & Join The Cheerful Choir (Saydisc CDSDL 442). This exceptionally well-filled disc of gallery hymns and carols of the 18th and 19th Cen- turies is equitably shared by the two trusty ensembles in performances of proven musi- cianship and lusty cheerful chorality. An early, and welcome, seasonal feast. www.saydisc.com


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