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Sasami’s Squeeze - appearances may deceive
New album: This second LP by the LA-based American Sasami Ashworth is one of strikingly eclectic genre contrasts of shade and light, from full blast nu-metal and rock, to gorgeous melodies of country-pop and folk, and even a coda of classical music
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Carson McHone’s Still Life
New album: Tremendously high-quality writing and performance by the singer-songwriter from Houston, Texas in this dynamic third album which mixes folk-country and Americana-rock, acoustic with electric, poignant lyrics and excellent vocals
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Perfectly paced: The Delines’ new album
New album: Wonderfully minimal, emotionally strong, yet also becalming third album of Southern soul by the Portland, Oregon band that includes guitarist and songwriter Willy Vlautin and the perfectly paced delivery of singer Amy Boone
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Big Thief’s campfire of inspiration
New album: Brooklyn’s Adrianne Lenker, Max Oleartchik, Buck Meek, and James Krivchenia return with a fifth and landmark double album of gorgeous, intelligent, free-flowing songwriting, mixing folk, pop, rock and country
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Anaïs Mitchell’s self-titled latest album
New album: Beautiful, classic singer-songwriter sixth LP from the Vermont folk artist, best known for Broadway success with the 2010 album and musical Hadestown, these finely crafted low-key piano and guitar-led numbers compare favourably with 1970s Joni Mitchell or Aimee Mann
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New album: Beautifully smooth guitar picking and a warm, mellow voice mark out this glowingly lovely latest LP by the folk artist from Columbus, Georgia, in a collection of traditionals and originals with a theme of loss and renewal
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Decorated with one of his own paintings, Michael Hurley’s The Time of the Foxgloves
New album: Gorgeous new LP by the veteran 80-year-old American folk singer-songwriter, cartoonist and painter, whose first album was released in 1964, and this latest still employs his trusty, hissy four-track recorder, as well as duets with guest singers
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Starkly beautiful: The Crooked Carty Sings … with artwork by
New album: The Miraculous Mule frontman’s December solo album is a beautiful, tender, haunting, intimate, country and blues infused collection of “bastardised folk songs, murder ballads, traveller tunes and sea songs” variously with new lyrics and arrangements
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Favourite selection part 2.
Favourite albums of 2021 – Part 2: Welcome the second instalment, following Part 1, which can be found here. A huge number of excellent releases, of which again this is just a selection many of which were written during, and about lockdown, but also saw many outstanding voices emerge as well as innovative sounds developed
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Take your pick. Are your favourites here? Also check out Part 2 coming soon.
Favourite albums of 2021, part 1: Another difficult year for everyone, but from soul and jazz, electro-pop the experimental and avant-garde, an outstanding one for music releases, perhaps in part because out of diversity comes great art. Also feel free to explore Part 2, which is now available to view here.
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Blind Date Party album
New album: The brilliant veterans of darkly beautiful lo-fi and killer lyrics release a 2020-21 lockdown collaborative 19-song compilation of covers and reworked songs with just as many guests, including songs by Leonard Cohen, Yusuf Islam and Billie Eilish, as well as many Drag City labelmates
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Julie Doiron’s I Thought of You
New album: Cracking new LP by the influential 49-year-old Canadian indie singer-songwriter who has released multiple album under her own name, various other monikers, in French and Spanish, here with catchy, melancholy and moving songs
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Raise the Roof continues the elevation of Plant and Krauss 2007 album Raising Sand
New album: Fourteen years after their award-winning album Raising Sand, the pair reunite with another very fine covers album, ably produced by T Bone Burnett, of blues, country, soul, but also now infusing English folk
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Mysterious beauty: Fun House by Hand Habits
New album: New York-born Los Angeles-based artist Meg Duffy returns with her own distinctive form of electro-pop and Americana folk with very refined, dreamily sung songs that build on her excellent single Aquamarine
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The album cover, one of several paintings by Ghanaian movie poster artist Daniel Anum Jasper
New album: Stevens’ new collaborative album with fellow songwriter brings two complementary voices and talents together with light, melancholy and beautiful numbers that are all inspired by a diverse set of feature films
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Blue Banister’s is Lana Del Rey’s eighth studio album in 11 years
New album: The American singer-songwriter returns with her eighth LP and second LP of the year with further slow, cinematic piano-based numbers filled with her soaring voice and vivid, heartbreak stories and images
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Le Ren aka Lauren Spear
New album: Beautifully assembled tapestry of gentle, sensitive, personal songs about different relationships with mothers, lovers, and friends by Montreal singer-songwriter Lauren Spear who sings with refreshingly candid clarity and directness
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Shannon Lay’s firth solo album Geist
New album: As shown by the single Rare To Wake, profiled earlier this year, this fifth solo album by the LA singer-songwriter brings beautifully written songs performed with acoustic restraint, rich vocal harmonies and maturity
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Pokey LaFarge
New album: After 2020’s mischievously dark Rock Bottom Rhapsody, Illinois-born Andrew Heissler returns with his cherry-picking persona of Americana styles with a bright, clever and upbeat assortment of 1930s jazz, country, Hawaiian, calypso, folk and New Orleans R&B shuffle
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Spencer Cullum's Coin Collection
New album: An exquisite album, hauntingly beautiful by the London singer-songwriter and pedal steel guitarist re-located to Nashville is reminiscent of Nick Drake with added, electric guitar, organ, keyboards, flute and light percussion with a Tennessee twang
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