This stunning EP has a gem at its heart. Lara’s vocals in “the dark side of love” have echos of a safer, more approachable Lorena McKinnet, and flicker within this arrangement like an unusually warm Celtic breeze. They are as disarming as they are deceiving and they are both surprising yet reassuring… This complex half light will draw you in like a cooling fire and rewire you.  2:46 is not enough to quench my insatiable thirst for this song.

There is a warm autumn breeze that blows through this song, sweet and glowing, this song holds a deep desperation, woven inside its glorious lyrics. It throbs like the pulse in fingertips as an embrace comes to an end, and it aches beautifully.
Ellie walker is channeling something very special in this whole EP.

Wake me up for Fran Lusty… I am a new convert to Fran’s work and there is a great collection of music here to get lost in… But there is something very special about this latest release, to me it captures more than the love of a person, who wakes you up to see a sunrise. It also embodies the longing, clawing and lunging of a person in bed, just desperate to be woken. Is this song more introspective than it first seems ?

When it rains, Maddie is the sun that makes a rainbow…
This song is spectacularly powerful, it will stomp its way into your brain and make a little nest there, and while it is causally reminding you that we should all try harder every day to improve the lives of everyone, equally and without prejudice, it will also lift you, and remind you that you can make a difference, if you just try to change something.

I have loved this for so long, released in 2024 this whole EP flashes and sparkles with witty and introspective lyrical majesty. There is a joy in the simplicity of this track that appeals to me greatly and Louise’s vocals are addictive. I can’t wait for more…

The Guitar in this glorious track glistens like the evening sun on a still ocean. Glinting and sparking playfully skipping over the surface is the sleek vocals of Amelia Coburn. As haunting as they are familiar, crisp and enigmatic vocals conceal something much darker, like the dark and silent water lurking under the deceptively bright sparks of light. Give this a few listens and take each layer at a time.

This glorious love letter, is profoundly beautiful. Davids guitar against Jenna’s vocals, and their soothing harmonies are superbly reassuring. This is song I come back to when I need something warming and familiar.

Christina and Alex, bring the beautiful warmth of a musical “folkie house” to this gorgeous love letter to the tradition. The kids peering under the door to hear the music, the generosity of open houses, and the simple act of playing together makes this track wobble with jaunty, joyous freedom. It is simply glorious.

Brooks is one of the finest guitarist I have ever seen, but when he backs up and lets is authentic and classic American voice take the front seat something amazing happens. This song has a smoky, slightly mysterious draw to it, like an alleyway you know you should go down, but the door look so enticing. Glorious.

Ben and Jimmy, never disappoint. One of the finest live acts on the circuit. I chose this song for the list because it shows of everything perfect about these two… Harmonies, competing guitar ornaments and a rolling easy style of Americana that I find intoxicating.

A masterclass in the folk tradition. This glorious love letter to strolling the english canal sides and towpaths with friends, is brilliantly familiar. The longing for long lost summers, laughing and larking about by the water is joyous and reassuring. This is everything folk music should be, let the joy of this transport you.

I have fallen deeply in love with this whole album, it fizzes with wonder and excitement. Saints in the trees soars and swoops with a majestic style, and conceals a sinister caution at its heart. A great indie-folk treat.

Only being “corner shop cake stale” is such a great metaphor for a relationship that has lost its lustre. This song is lyrically brilliant and deceptively easy to listen to despite is hungry, desperation under the bonnet. A great addition to your indie-folk collection.

I have been a secret fan of Dean Frost for a while.. his April release EP is smart, intriguing and crafted perfectly…. I am so thrilled I will finally get to see him perform this live, because Dean, to my ears at least, is still opening like buds before the broad leaves of a sycamore. 
There is so much in there which is yet to be released. Is it restraint or restriction? 
“Sinner” shows off the finest of Frost’s finger work, and shows his song writing at its most free.

Chris, the “Loop Station Magician” crafts spectacular live music by layering vocal harmonies, rhythms and guitar with a loop station style that is almost seamless. This is a spectacular example of Chris Fox’s fine craft… If you can see him live … do… he is spellbinding.

Typifying the folk tradition, folk balladeers bring a true authenticity. The epitome of the folk scene, song collectors, ego free honest and accessible, Wickenwood have an easy access, short cut to the heart of folk.

This beautiful track echos of Tom’s farming routes and somehow shows his lovely worn edges… like an old book there is glory in its looseness and freedom in its escapism. I love this EP so much and Tom is outstanding live.

This is what the pure, visceral, power of a million volts of emotional energy sounds like.

Fraser brings his beautiful desperate, clawing, emotion to life on stage. He is like no other artist I have seen live. This song particularly but the whole EP captures this perfectly.

OH Boy… There is something new kicking down the doors of British folk rock… The powerhouse of sound that is Lost Robins, featuring the thunderous machine that is, Josh Robins, bring the festival into the studio with this sizzling recording of perfectly controlled, devilishly good, dirty, Pogues-ie (new word?), shouty loud-folk.
I am hooked…

So if you need to get your hands on some punchy, shouty, high octane, authentic, loud-folk, this is the place. I picked out Born Drunk, particularly because it is lyrically outstanding, proving that the classic “stomp and holler” does not have to sacrifice lyrical dexterity… This thumps along as an exemplary demonstration of the craft.