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1 Albaluna Nau Dos Corvos (Albaluna). Rockist Portuguese street-mediæval sextet, in the general energetic territory of Els Berros De La Cort or Corvus Corvax, with pan-Mediterranean and Balkan influences. Various bagpipes, ethnic lutes, fiddles, hurdy-gurdy, whistles, bass guitar, hefty percussion and drums in band-composed tunes and songs. albaluna.pt


1 Osama Abdulrasol Quintet Jedid (Home Records). Fine Iraqi-exiled Belgian qanun player’s quintet is particularly notable for the way it integrates his Middle Eastern music with Philippe Thuriot’s non-Middle- Eastern accordeon virtuosity, joined by Belgian cellist and percussionist. Singer Helena Schoeters partly essays Arabic styles but also shows her classical soprano training. homerecords.be


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 Cara Dillon Upon A Winter’s Night (Charcoal Charcd008). Seasonal albums can be a poisoned chalice or revelation. Cara Dillon’s vocals float on a largely acoustic celebration of the Christmas repertoire. Breathing new life into established traditional carols with supple arrangements and superb vocal work, this collection avoids the bland morass. caradillon.co.uk


1 Subsonic Trio Sonic Migration (Bafe’s Factory MBA 014). We’re lucky to have great, subtle Brazilian percussionist Adriano Adewale living in Britain. Here he, Finland- dwelling former Forcione bandmate Nathan Riki Thomson (double bass) and Sibelius- Academy prof Kristiina Ilmonen (ethnic flutes) make airy, multi-textured, atmospheric music flowing from Finnish, Brazilian and Antipodean sound-worlds. bafesfactory.fi


1 Cunning Folk Ritual Land, Uncommon Ground (Dharma Records). The artists previously known as Gentle Folk undergo a line-up change and return with beautifully-rendered pastoral and Pagan acoustic folk-pop. Evocative of summer days walking the Ridgeway and grooving in long barrows, it’s all very pleasantly Gently Johnny. cunningfolkmusic.com


1 Stanley Brinks & The Old Time Kaniks Vielles Caniques et Nouvelles Caniques (Fika Recordings FIKA056CD). Double album recorded in a Norwegian lighthouse. Brinks (aka André Herman Düne) hymns healthy rural pursuits like drinking, skinny-dipping, stew and heartbreak, accompanied by fiddle and banjo. Lengthy, but gems amongst the Cajun waltzes and old-time indie calypsos. fikarecordings.com


@ Bailsda United States Of Balkans (USB). A new promotion for the Thessaloniki Roma reggae punks’ debut. Multi-genre songs in praise of mountains and in contempt of fascists. “Along with fed-up beatles, punk sea rovers, balkan bears and gypsy whales we feel alright and have a great time!” they state. Right. But braggadocious rap gets in the way. baildsa.com


2 Bilja Krstik & Bistrik Orchestra Traditional Songs From Serbia And The Balkans (ARC EUCD2687). Shorn of pretension, this pan-Balkan collection of almost ineffable sadnesses is a minor miracle of smouldering vocals and fine judgement. With subtlety and feeling, the orchestra plays provenance and borders into irrelevance. A seriously languorous stretching of cadence, meaning and multiple traditions. arcmusic.co.uk


1 Rainbrother Tales From The Drought (General Bird). Debut album from Copen - hagen rock band formed by former The Migrant singer Bjarke Bentsen, effectively blending Pink Floyd-y electronics and guitar glissandos, Fleet Foxes vocal harmonies and woody acoustic textures. Fans of Midlake and Bon Iver take note. rainbrother.com


2 Julie Byrne Not Even Happiness (Basin Rock). New York-based singer, songwriter and seasonal park ranger recounts her explorations of love and landscape across nine finely-crafted compositions. Possessed of a voice that makes you want to travel with her, she’s an expressive fingerstyle guitar player too. juliemariebyrne.com


1 Tallari 30 (Kansanmusiikki-instituutti KICD 130). 30-track double of well-chosen tracks from the past 30 years by Finland’s salaried folk group tasked to represent the country’s traditions. Its core membership of four has been joined over the years by shorter-term members, many well-known, often singers, and most feature here, plus guests. tallari.net


Cassie & Maggie


1 Various Guises Tide Take Him (Various Guises). Beguiling vocal harmonies, cello and guitar from Blanche Ellis and Maya McCourt on their debut EP. The title track (a reworked Drunken Sailor) is strikingly effective. Their jazz hand-y Bedlam Boys (apprehensively listed as a ‘bonus track’) less so. variousguises.bandcamp.com


1 Auli Gadalokos (Lauska CD065). Four heavy skin-headed drummers (the drums, not the players), six bagpipers and bass. Essentially suited to live impressiveness, but the Latvian band’s fifth CD shows how much they’ve developed in sound, skill, composition and arrangement, and makes an unexpectedly varied eighteen-track listen. lauska.lv


1 Hans P Kjorstad & Rasmus Kjorstad Pusinshi Ulla (Ta:lik TA148). Skilful Nor - wegian fiddle duo with radical improvising approach to Gudbrandsdalen melodies. Opening tracks – reverbed plunk-and-scrape, distorted Afro-blues style with mass vocals, stretched springleik, industrial – move later to gentle reflectiveness, fluttering delays. Initially uneasy listening, but bold, culturally significant. talik.no


2 The Hut People Routes (Fellside FECD 280). These guys are big on everything: box, percussion, presence, energy, fun. Massively ebullient, mega-inventive, larger-than-life, with an enormous repertoire of tunes from across the musical universe (the Hut’s their Tardis). Sometimes relentless, but it’s so easy to dig the big. thehutpeople.co.uk


2 Cassie & Maggie The Willow Collection (Cassie & Maggie CMM003). Fascinating release from Canadian MacDonald sisters, steeped in roots from head to toe. The album veers from straight- down-the-line trad to electronic ambience. It packs a punch and has harmonies laden with peaches and cream. These sisters know a thing or two and should be heard over here pronto. cassieandmaggie.com


Photo: Mark Maryanovich


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