Back catalogue: Folk/Americana

Review: Sometimes it's just too difficult to contain our excitement; we're quaking in our boots at news of Khruangbin's next release, with the Texan three-piece this time lending their alt-indie-funk mastery to vocal frontage by Leon Bridges. The humorously titled lead single 'B-side' is emblematic of their stated aim here - to redefine "how people perceive Texas music i that beautiful marriage of country and r'n'b i and really paying homage to that." The sonic result? Bubbling bass and wahhy riffs, over a ghostly and misty relaxers' beat. Its hook digs into our thighs deeper than a Sheriff's steel spurs, and fittingly, it's music video is themed after a 19th Century western town.

Review: We're excited by this fresh repress from the fine folks at PVine because it brings back to life an iconic cut from the widely beloved Hawaiian AOR album Lui. This classic gentle sound is also known for its stunning artwork and has long been a fav of collectors and diggers. Alongside 'Oh, Oh (I Think I'm Fallin' In Love)' on the A-side, you can find 'My Lover' on the flip and it is another showcase of the smooth, mellow grooves that appeal to free soul and AOR enthusiasts. These two timeless and once 'contemporary Hawaiian' songs from the 70s feature plenty of local musicians and have subtle influence from the US West Coast sound.

Review: Times change, things get worse, outlooks seem bleaker, and the storm grows more severe. It's times like these you really need a ballast, something to hold on to and call upon for reassurance. Since inception, Lambchop have tried to be that force for good in a world hellbent on marching to madness. And The Bible is the group's finest hour for several years, although on the face of things it's not necessarily very different from immediate predecessors.

Lead singer Kurt Wagner has frequently quipped that his band don't really fit the country genre label, but again we're struggling to think of where else to place this. Country and Western it certainly isn't, but the totems are definitely down that route. That strong, iconic, patient and thought-provoking yet scarred voice, songs dealing with both the festival and comedown of life itself. This is slow, piercingly poignant stuff, from the heartbroken piano quiet of 'So There', to gospel-infused jazz on 'Police Dog Blues'.

Review: Minhwi Lee has come a long way in the past decade and a half, give or take. Debuting as a member of the indie band Mukimukimanmansu, when she went under the name Mansu, by 2016 she was putting out solo albums (Borrowed Tongue) and a year later picked up Best Folk Album at the Korean Music Awards. Hometown to Come was the difficult second, that all-pressure-on follow up to a trophy-bagging record that can either make or break an artist. Suffice to say, 12 months or so on from its original release, and the record remains a triumph. A tender, nostalgia-hued, slow travel adventure through jazz balladry and quiet, hushed journey-woman fare that asks questions about community, individuality, haunted pasts, uncertain presents, and hopeful futures. In the end, the main word that springs to mind is: timeless.

Review: Considering the most she's ever been guilty of is writing soft but super emotional folk-leaning indie rock, Fenne Lily has proven remarkably divisive over the past half decade or so. 2018's debut, On Hold, seemed to split critics down the middle, some lauding praise on the release while others wrote it off as sad girl songs lacking the ingredients to truly stand out.
In reality, all negative thoughts were really the result of one thing - the incredible hype that was surrounding the Bristol songwriter ahead of that first LP. Five years on, and with more records behind her, it's safe to say the haters lost and she definitely won: Big Picture is a confident and committed testament to the fact that she is incredibly talented, packing real impact behind those whispered words and, for the most part, gently plucked six strings.

Review: The music of this unique quartet explores the roots of African music while embracing its newest possibilities. Featuring Malian singer Rokia Traore and griot Mamah Diabate, alongside Stefano Pilia (Afterhours, Massimo Volume), their collaboration merges with Gambian griot Jabel Kanuteh, a kora virtuoso, and percussionist Marco Zanotti. The fusion of Malian and Gambian rhythms with Italian influences creates a fresh new sound that blends the ancient and the modern. The music weaves jazz, rock and folk with a number of experimental digressions but never at the expense of an underlying groove and high-fidelity sense of musicianship that connects diverse cultural identities.

Review: The debut album by performer and researcher of traditional Galician music, Carme Lopez, is an experimental work for the Galician bagpipe. Drawing inspiration from composers like Eliane Radigue and Pauline Oliveros, Lopez explores the bagpipe's sonic boundaries here and creates slowly evolving soundscapes that mean you hear the instrument in all new ways. The album is structured in four movements with a prologue and epilogue and decouples the bagpipe from its traditional roots instead offering a fresh, personal approach. With sounds ranging from subtle air passages to complex drones, Quintela pays homage to Lopez's past while venturing into new, unknown musical territory. It's unusual but alluring.

Review: The French group Lowland Brothers Band offers up more of its signature blend of soul, rock and Americana in what is a superbly liberating and timeless second album, Over The Fence. Their 2021 self-titled debut was led by Nico Duportal on vocals and guitars with Hugo Deviers on percussion and guitar and Max Genouel on bass and keyboards and between them, they uniquely bridged these sounds as well as an earthy take on Americana despite the band originally hailing from the West and North of France. They aim to honour the African-American musical tradition while transporting its essence into new territory and Over The Fence continues this exploration by offering a fresh transatlantic sound that resonates with both past and present influences.