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1 Jack Blackman Too South For Heaven (Tuery) A tremendous guitarist / multi-instru- mentalist and an accomplished songwriter who operates in a classic pop-rock territory somewhere between Glenn Tilbrook’s kitchen sink dramas and Desmond Child’s arena anthems. Not really fRoots domain, but a guaranteed rocking good time nonetheless. jackblackman.com


1 Jacken Elswyth / Pataphysical feat. Ed Luker Betwixt & Between 2 (Betwixt & Between Tapes) Emerging as a vital figure on the English folk underground, Jacken Elswyth continues her exploration of transitional iden- tity, genre, gender and cryptozoology via bowed and clawhammer banjo, improvisation, tradition, feedback and drone. Side two’s “per- verse meditation tape” provides unsettling respite. betwixtbetweentapes.bandcamp.com


1 Tuomas Palonen (Palatsi PALATSI010) Helsinki singer-songwriter and folklorist’s “love letter to the psychedelic era” evokes Finnish traditions to create an appealingly woozy pastoral folk-pop record. Zither, harp, nylon-string guitar, violin, flute and sundry tinkly and plinky things fuel the sonic sauna. palatsi.bandcamp.com


2 Papa M. A Broke Moon Rises (Papa MDC715CD) “Music for four acoustic guitars” by Slint’s David Pajo. Four wordless (save for the muttered oath that incongruously con- cludes A Lighthouse Reverie) originals, and Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel Im Spiegel comprise a layered, slithering, chim- ing and uncommonly beautiful record. papa-m.bandcamp.com


2 Son Of John & John Parker Live At Fieldgate Studio (Own Label) Son Of John (Jacob Johnson) is a picker, singer and song- writer whose music incorporates American and English folk elements in a manner not unlike that of Martin Simpson. John Parker (Nizlopi) adds terrific double bass to this atmospheric five-song EP. sonofjohnfolk.com


2 Assynt Road To The North (Garthland GAR001CD) Mostly self-composed, instru- mental album from the trio of David Shedden (bagpipes/whistles), Graham Mackenzie (fid- dle) and Innes White (guitar/mandolin). Con- tains some big-striding, rhythmic, pacey bag- pipe sets. assyntmusic.com


2 Dan Possumato The Last Pint (Old Box Records OBR 005) Pittsburgh-born accordeon and melodeon ace Dan Possumato picks choice company here including Kevin Burke and Seamus McGuire. His reedy box playing evokes the early Copley styles of Joe Derrane, creating a warm session vibe that’s both sweet and vibrant. danpossumato.com


2 Helen Diamond (Own Label HCD01) Northern Irish singer of traditional music stock displays both confidence and experi- ence on her debut recording. Here is solo singing of the highest degree, easily compa- rable with fellow Ulster greats Rosie Stewart and Roisin White, and a choice song reper- toire. facebook.com/helendiamondmusic


@ Celtic Connections Spindrift (CELTCD 001 7 320470 236055) Irish music from Gothenburg recorded in 1995 and released here for the first time. Textured music, tunes old and new, but nothing that has not been heard and done better elsewhere. lijansmusik.com


1 Various Glovebox: Where All The Best Music Is Kept (Glovebox GL101) Decent swathe of modern roots players recorded for Glovebox Promotions – producers of podcasts down four years. The bands offered range from the backwoodsy growl of Hunter & The Bear to the delicate trad of Emily Smith, and Raghu Dixit’s Asian acoustic funk charms as well. Each sale donates to charities helping musicians in unfortunate circumstances. Only from Glovebox at gloveboxlive.uk


Small Island Big Song


1 Various Small Island Big Song (SIBS 0001) Producer Tim Cole was a member of the Australian pop band Not Drowning Waving, one of the first Australian bands to take note of nearby neighbours. This project involved travelling to sixteen island nations following the intangible sea routes of the Polynesian, Micronesian, Malagasy and other seafarers via music and shared cultural idiosyncrasies. Not an ethnographic recording but one creat- ed by overdubbing musicians from these dif- ferent and diverse places and cultures. The end result, especially live (as can be seen on YouTube), is a kind of Polynesian Riverdance. smallislandbigsong.com/


2 Jumping Matt & His Combo Dressed Up (PMCD009/) Hungarian harmonica player Matyas Pribojsszki storms through an octane- fuelled burn-up, fronting a storming band augmented with the biggest, loudest brass and horn section that you could imagine. Exhilarating and exhausting, and a whole lotta fun! jumpingmatt.com


@ Stone Junction Could We Start This All Again (Eris 5 029385 847463) Acoustic trio who play and sing in tune, but really lack the ingredients to make a recording worth seek- ing out. They mostly pick songs where there are already outstanding versions available, and to which Stone Junction add nothing. stonejunctionband.co.uk


2 Reds Band (Own Label) A teen folk quar- tet from Olympia, Washington, Reds Band play fiddle music of Scotland, Ireland, Cana- da, Scandinavia and America. Two pairs of brothers, Dante and Eros Faulk, River and Sage Scheuerell, traverse Irish and classical idioms with an energetic conviction. redsband.com


2 Catfish Keith Reefer Hound (Fish Tail FTRCD016) Catfish fishes through his back catalogue to selects 16 songs that all relate to the notorious weed, that originated in the free-spirited ‘20s and ‘30s when folks (espe- cially musicians) were more addicted to hav- ing a good time than smart phones! Roll one and relax with Catfish. catfishkeith.com


1 Eläkeläiset Humppamania! (Nordic Notes NN123) “The Pensioners”, ironic come- dy purveyors of a Finnish mid-20th-century phenomenon – humppa, a relentlessly up- tempo 2/2 dance – with droll, Finnish re- worded pogo-ing humppafications, old and new, of mostly rock/pop hits. High-energy fun live, though for non-Finnish speakers a dou- ble CD might over-suffice. nordic-notes.de


2 Petri Hakala & Piia Kleemola Field Trip (Kihtinäjärvi K3JCD012) Two of Finland’s lead- ing folk musicians, on guitar/mandola and fiddle respectively, bring fresh life to old tunes – Finnish polskas, mazurka, waltz, polonaise, wedding march – from collections, and a couple of their own, exploring and expanding them with improvisation in their essential spirit. puhti.eu


2 Ahlberg, Ek & Roswall Till Dans (Dimma Sweden DIS043/Westpark WP87376) The dense, chunky, dance-impelling sound of 5-string fiddle, nyckelharpa and 16-string gui- tar of Ranarim in trad Swedish and original tunes inevitably evokes comparison with Väsen, but Emma, Daniel and Niklas are top players with illustrious pedigrees of their own, and this has its own glory. westparkmusic.de


2 Various Folk & Great Tunes From Latvia (CPL Music CPL026) Useful two-CD sampler, 41 tracks showing the character of the Latvian trad-roots music that’s multiply- ing, developing and diversifying these days. Most are licensed from by far the most active Latvian roots label, Lauska, but there’s inter- esting stuff from bands’ own labels too. cpl-music.de


1 Sutaras + Kompromisai / Compromises (Kuku SMF 057) The Lithuanian instrumental and vocal folklore group, founded in 1988, now an age-range-spanning quartet, play the gamut of traditional instruments – skuduciai, bagpipes, kankles, tuba, bandoneon, clarinet and more. Often quirkily appealing here with multiple guests including singer Veronika Povilioniene and ensembles from trad and other genres. sutaras.lt


1 They Must Be Crazy Mother Nature (own label) Mother Nature is packed with some hefty Afrobeat and Afrofunk grooves. Their sound is big and bold, and the record- ing is exceptionally bright and lively. From time to time the pace is a little frenetic, which is only really an issue in the recorded format – this would be a great band to hear live. facebook.com/TheyMustBeCrazy


1 Darren Hayman Thankful Villages Vol. 3 (Belka HEFCD13) More ghosts from the recent past, coming up the years somewhat: the small stories of a Nazi-sympathising priest and the shutting of many village service points, school, shop. All done in a cinéma vérité style, the final instalment in this wor- thy series is every bit as enthralling as the first two. darrenhaymanbandcamp.com


Photo: Janus van den Eijnden


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