Album Review | Africmelo | Review by Allan Wilkinson The soothing and often meditative sound of Adjiri Odametey’s voice alone renders this album irresistible, together with the multi-instrumentalist’s musical arrangements of seemingly simple, yet compelling songs.  Born and raised in Accra, Ghana and having ties with such groups as the Pan African Orchestra and the … Continue reading Adjiri Odametey – Ekonklo

Album Review | Mountain Fever Music Group | Review by Liam Wilkinson Junior Sisk is one of those artists who is so steeped in the traditional music of his native Virginia that bluegrass appears to issue from him like water from a Blue Ridge mountain spring.  After setting out his stall as a songwriter in … Continue reading Junior Sisk – Load the Wagon

Album Review | Kaloo Kalay | Review by Marc Higgins From the first moments of “Into The Arms Of Another” Araluen present an intoxicating mix of Soul and Americana.  Henry Senior’s pedal steel, Thomas Collison’s retro keyboards and Angela Gannon’s from The Magic Numbers’ rich vocals deliver languid melancholia, a touch of The Delines or … Continue reading Araluen – And There It Is

Album Review | We Are Rats Recordings | Review by Allan Wilkinson One of the few refreshing aspects of the state we currently find ourselves in, is the manner in which some of our artists address their own predicament, when the most valued element of their craft is in fact missing, the people that is, … Continue reading John Blek – Digressions 2 Grounded

Album Review | Black Hen Music | Review by Allan Wilkinson Just the mention of both New Orleans and Cuba in the same sentence brings on involuntary bodily movements, which start at the shoulders and soon find their way down to the feet.  Kat Danser pitches things just right from the start on her new … Continue reading Kat Danser – One Eye Open

Album Review | An Lanntair | Review by Allan Wilkinson Initially intended as a series of collaborative events for both Shetland Folk Festival and Heb Celt in Lewis, featuring singers and musicians from Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides, the Between Islands project joined countless other events scuppered by the COVID-19 disaster.  Rather than shelving the … Continue reading Various Artists – Between Islands

Album Review | Glitterbeat | Review by Allan Wilkinson When we think of the pedal steel guitar, we probably first think of how the instrument enhances country songs with moments of both joy and sorrow as the notes giggle and weep to form easily identifiable and often clichéd patterns.  I’m thinking of course of The … Continue reading Chuck Johnson – The Cinder Grove

Album Review | Tres Pescadores Records | Review by Allan Wilkinson This is the twelfth album to date by Southern Californian’s Rick Shea, whose twangy electric guitar spars effortlessly with Phil Parlapiano’s swirling Cajun-flavoured accordion, a sound that immediately shifts from Shea’s Southern California roots to the Bayous of Louisiana, the opener in particular, “Blues … Continue reading Rick Shea – Love and Desperation