When an album gets a “nothing short of world class” rating from Echo Rebel and we’re straight from listening to the incredible new release from Odette Michell (scroll down…) then the Devil’s advocate rears its head to test the claim.

OK. Look At Me is a startling curtain raiser – all quivering gothic folk noir. Maybe dipping the toes in the oily psychedelic waters occupied by diverse sources such as Rosalie Cunningham, Bleek Noir and Siouxie & The Banshees. Interesting and we’re hooked by the exciting prospect of heading off the map.

The presence of Eva Wright’s cello adds a chamber quality as Eliza ducks, dips, dives and dodges, her vocals swooping around the soundtrack in a most dynamic fashion; most likely in the expansive red velvet gown in which she adorns the album cover. Testing time signatures collide with haunting and fairground atmospheres in a refusal to conform and be restrained by any expectations.

The key line might be in the tribal / playful Twine where she sings “I’ve been waiting so long, doing things that I knew were wrong” that reminds us of the illicit thrill of being a little bit maverick. Don’t be fooled by some of the gentle acoustic intros. With Don’t Love Me Lightly on repeat, a White Rabbit for the ages, we’ll declare a quick take that’s another to consider in greater depth.

The seventh album from the Finnish outfit, where the stark artwork – continuing the theme from Polar Veil – gives but a hint of the musical contents. Stark and foreboding, The contrast between the dark and foreboding slivers of Black Metal and the atmospheres and traditions of their culture are much in evidence. The startling shift from a distant piano to the intense thrash in the opening moments of Sapphire Zephyrs gives a hint that Nocturne is set to explore extremes.

Much of the guitar work slices viciously through the swathes of melancholic vocals, almost dominating and overpowering the attempts at subtlety. The balance shifting in favour of a shadowy depth, the likes of the slow building frenzy of Mother Destroyer and the don’t be fooled by the intro’ depth charge es that drive Nights Tender Reckoning.

The vignette that is Concealed Deceit, offers a piano based mood piece that gives brief respite before the mighty downtuned Doom of Unworld that offers a deeper malevolence. Proof that musical threat doesn’t always need to come (as it inevitably does in Phoebus which follows, in breakneck tempos and throat ripping vocals. As someone once said, “hope you like our new direction.“

Five years on from her The Wildest Rose debut in 2019, Odette Michell returns with a set of original songs that show a nouse for drawing on tropes from the traditional canon. Dipping into historical stories and her own ancestry, Odette’s aim to bring the folk tradition to the autenticity of her own songwriting is achieved in spades.

Several guests provide their own unique decorative touches – Ninebarrow perfectly placed on the gentle opening The Woodlark & The Fieldfare and Fairport’s Chris Leslie on the title track. Alongside Daria Kulesh she revisits Flowers from their album of the same name with Karen Pfeiffer. Add the names of Beer, Drinkwater to the teamsheet and Queen Of The Lowlands really can’t fail. It genuinely lives up to the promise.

From jaunty and joyful to poignant and reflective, the sheer quality of the recording and the production – hats off to Stu Hanna – makes the acoustic instruments from guitar to mandolin to fiddle and pipes, shine. A quick take on this occasion, but an album that has real depth and sheer quality that elevates it into ‘album of the year’ status. Loved it!

Given fair warning with the Direct Debit To Vogue EP from ’22 and the Wickerman single earlier this year, Poems & Non Fiction finds Ruth surprising herself with the “raw honesty” of the new songs. An eleven song set which comes in a very satisfying gallery of single word titles.

She talks of the record as imagining her life as series of poems and non-fiction “that at times has felt unreadable, overwhelming, impenetrable, senseless, unreal.” An investment in the abstract, experimental and brooding but an eye for a radio friendly hook too with the bouncy Perfect. However, it’s the focus on the minimal and the less is more effect that grabs the attention. The thrill of unexpected turns and developments.

The moody sax on Confetti and the background dulcimer decoration on November just a couple of examples of how that minimal approach – the Gabriel effect – crafts and creates musical and lyrical depth within an apparent simplicity. Summed up by Seasons, the acceptance of the inevitability of change and growth has given Ruth a strength and confidence that seeps through a fulfilling and maybe cathartic debut album.

On the back of a rather splendid personal memoir Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair? Jakko adds a musical companion to the tale of an extraordinary life. The autobiographical catharsis of his writing plays out across a hugely personal set that draws from episodes of his life and matches his aptitude for the written word.

Those words remain very much the focus with the musical channel deviating from the Progressive related expectancy (no wild and wonderful Crimsonising to see here) for what could well be a richer and certainly more diverse palette. One that justifiably might be seen as not too distant relatives to his myriad of musical ‘jobs’ which pepper his story. Son Of Glen is some way from cutting edge Prog in it’s quiet restraint, but no less intriguing given the content. Jakko occasionally shows his musical chops, turning out a mean guitar part or two.

The ten minute title track might suggest a reverting to type. The Trespass-y ‘pastoral prog’ (copyright Big Big Train) in the opening acoustic passage picks up pace yet retains the gently undulating atmosphere that pervades the album. A set that deserves and earns a most respectful nod.

Bassist Tom Lyne has produced an album, with pianist Dave Milligan, that speaks to the creativity of improvisation, imbued with a keen sense of melodic structure, and telling stories in a musical form. Well Mixed Blue was recorded at Castlesound Studios, just outside Edinburgh, and the compositions represent a series of exquisite musical portraits. Where the two musicians explore and articulate soundscapes, that layer and connect melody, rhythm, and tonality, in the most engaging and inventive way.

Highlights on the album include the opening track Sea More, an impressionistic reflection on the ocean, where the double bass and piano flow quite beautifully around each other. Use Me, in contrast shows the more playful side of these two great improvising musicians, with sparkling melodies and swing rhythms, creating a musical badinage. Tom Lyne’s double bass solo here is a musical treat.

This album is a fabulous listening experience.

Eagles Over Hellfest  features the audio recording of Saxon’s huge show from Hellfest 2024. It’s a 2CD package that includes the Hell, Fire & Damnation album, but the appeal is a live set that encompasses some iconic British Heavy Metal from both the early days of the NWOBHM and more recent times.

Saxon certainly have some anthems in their locker, all introduced in a dramatic fashion (someone who sounds like or may even be Tom Baker?) and the title track of the new album proves a perfect intro piece. A sign and the sound of things to come with Biff imploring the Hellfesters to “make some f@@king noise!” and with one of those choruses that Saxon can add to their list of Heavy Metal classics.

No duff tracks in this live set – it’s a total crowd pleaser. From Strong Arm Of The Law to Power & The Glory and Denim And Leather to the latest Hell, Fire And Damnation, all of SAXON’s greatest anthems are revisited on Eagles Over Hellfest. An unmissable live collection showcasing Brian Tatler’s contribution to the current line up and the band’s exemplary career that can be filed neatly with their live output devoted to their Heavy Metal crusade.

Cerys Hafana generally inspires enthusiasts of two things, namely her playing of the triple harp and singing her own Welsh language. Devotees of either might want to look away now, as neither are featured here, it being a selection of solo piano pieces she has accumulated over the years. Actually, don’t look away, as this is as good a collage of minimalist themes as the many produced by the likes of Olafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm.

The nine compositions, which vary in length between just under the two minute mark to several that are just shy of six minutes, are often tasters rather than fully realised themes. Opener Elry sets the bar high, however, with a flurry of notes that mimic a tumbling stream. For a more sombre and reflective mood, the title track would be a good place to start, and yes, the titles are all Welsh. Bar that shortest selection, Dead Man’s Feet which has a tinkly Take Five frisson about it, Brubeck on Brains, the beer, perhaps.

At times her fluid dexterity can carry her away into tonal hand exercises, leaving you sweaty, but that gets held in check for the Yr Osteg, which wraps things up with a mix of grace and ceremony. Aptly, perhaps as Difrisg translates as serious.

Actually a good deal less scary than the title or album cover suggests, this, rather than any communist propaganda, is a second album by the two sons of one John Wardle, Jah Wobble to his many fans.

These two apples haven’t fallen far from the tree and the content is not so dissimilar from some of their father’s more outré moments, 2021’s Guanyin perhaps. Which would be unsurprising as they featured on that, with Daddy returning the favour here, addding his distinctive bass to several of the tracks. Charlie is adept on an array of Chinese and Mongolian traditional instruments, singing the English lyrics, mystical fare mostly, in a tone that is a slightly more sing-song version of his Dad’s blunt declamatory gruffness.

John junior supplies bass, for when his father doesn’t, both moog and orthodox, as well all the percussion, mainly lots of cymbals and hand drums.. It is all utterly bonkers, of course, and pleasingly so, with nothing remotely commercial about it, but it hits that spot for when your brain cries out for a bit of weird. Mongolian Dub would be the ideal taster, but Dharma Ambient is possibly more enjoyable, for a burst of (very) Eastern promise.

, In their original incarnation, Horslips lasted ten years and left us with nine excellent albums

They’ve been called “The Founding Fathers of Celtic Rock.” When Horslips convened in Dublin in 1970, they launched a career that left a huge, huge legacy that still resonates around the world to this day.  In their original incarnation, Horslips lasted ten years and left us with nine excellent albums. Without heir signature blend of Irish traditional music and British/American rock it’s fair to say that The Pogues, The Saw Doctors, The Waterboys and many others would have all ploughed less fertile furrows.

This set of Horslips’ BBC appearances between 1973 and their return in the early 2010s comprises four CDs and a DVD, including early appearances on Radio 1 In Concert, The Old Grey Whistle Test and John Peel’s show. The resurrected version of Horslips is represented by a 2010 unplugged session, a 2019 BBC NI performance of Sideways To The Sun and a 2011 BBC Radio Ulster recording of the band’s orchestral concert with the Ulster Orchestra that features extracts from The Tain, The Book of Invasions and I’ll Be Waiting.

The DVD brings together clips from numerous appearances on The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1974 documentary material and fan footage from their 2011 Waterfront Hall, Belfast concert with images synched to the BBC audio recording.

It’s Horslips heaven!