Back catalogue: Folk/Americana

Review: Japanese psychedelic pop singer-songwriter Ai Aso hails from Tokyo and has an almost impossibly wispy thin folky style to her singing that makes her utterly unique. She has been active since 2000 and has worked both solo as well as with the likes of White Heaven members You Ishihara and Michio Kurihara. Her solo album arrived back in 2014 and now a decade on gets a vinyl press via Ideologic Organ. It is beautifully delicate and whimsical, with lullaby-like guitar melodies and her own vaporous vocals drifting gently with a real sense of innocence in the sparse tracks. Lo-fi and intimate, this is a quiet gem.

Review: The latest offering from serial collaborator and cross-genre tastemaker Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic Organ imprint is a tender filigree bureau of acid folk sketches from Tokyo's Ai Aiso. Across seven tracks, she patiently meanders through broken and phased chord progressions, her simultaneously pure and wavering vocal lines forming elegant arcs over sparse beds of instrumentation and washes of room tone. Some tracks are bookended by applause, and it is this ostensibly 'indoorsy' atmosphere which lends the mini LP a great deal of charm; the delicate atmospherics seem to issue from an intimate and isolated space. Indeed, Bandcamp user Everyvillianislemons317 describes it as "The perfect album for a lonely night in the city." We're more than inclined to agree.

Review: The Cuckoo Storm might never have been, were it not for a social media post Adrian Crowley wrote on a wintry late-night walk in a quiet neighbourhood of Dublin during lockdown. Struck by Waterson's previous album Death Had Quicker Wings Than Love (co-written with David A Jaycock), Crowley wanted to mark the moment, and so pressed 'send' into the ether with no way of knowing what would follow. Drawn to his voice and seeing a kindred spirit in his poetic lyrics, Waterson was touched by his message and responded by asking if he would be interested in working together. His answer was a resounding 'yes.' Cuckoo Storm followed; a deeply compelling album and serendipitous collaboration comprising eleven beautifully crafted songs, sung by two matching voices that are a powerful match. Waterson's brilliantly distinctive voice is underpinned by Crowley's rich baritone, and together it's an intoxicating mix.