Susy Wall is often to be found, coaching other folk to sing. If that suggests she knows a bit about it, you’d not be wrong. But, stepping away from theory, it is the practice of singing, and writing, where her skills need the greater light this second release offers, and gives, her.

Black Lights is 10 songs, and an instrumental, in celebration of her beloved Black Country, the onetime seat of industry west of and definitely/defiantly not part of Birmingham. And if you expect such a tribute to be all chunky industrial sounds, you’d be wrong, as these are largely light and airy compositions, capturing other sides of the area.

There are echoes of a young Joni Mitchell in her voice, the better to catch every word she sings, words being important to her, with poetry often informing her writing, Indeed, a couple of tracks include spoken poems, by their authors. Accompaniment is largely organic: her own piano and guitar, with lyrical double bass, from John Parker, a near constant. Elsewhere, woodwinds, lap steel and organ add warm textures to suit each the varied approach that each song takes.

Hard to single out the high points, as the record really needs to be heard as a whole, but I’d suggest the title track, along with the piano led instrumental reprise, the hymnal Last Meadow and the feisty, fiddle-infused Dereliction. A word also for the closer, Let The Light In, a lilting ballad where she is joined, warmly and sympathetically, by local boy, Matt Sayers, on additional vocals.

You wouldn’t be alone to question quite what the four faces on the sleeve might have to offer, with the clue being in the instruments held, rather than anything much else. That big old baby, touted by the tallest member, is a nycklelharpa, which might suggest this to be stolid Scandi fare, but there is a far wider pan-European approach, encompassing songs from the traditions of England, France and the Celtic nations. As a result, this foursome, based upon two already existing duos, get to sing in several languages. (Kristina Leesik, on fiddle, is also a member of Glasgow band, Tern.)

With harp, guitar and fiddle the additional textures, a fair part the repertoire is instrumental, all performed with sufficient spark to suggest rather more the dancefloor than the concert hall.

Unafraid the competition, they too have a new version of Wild Rover, as the song returns from years of being consigned only to the drunk and unimaginative. And it’s a good one. Elsewhere there are Gaelic songs learnt from Julie Fowlis and by Kim Carnie, alongside a tune penned by Leveret’s Andy Cutting. Interspersed is their own material, with Leesik’s  Udda Låten a particularly engaging piece. They even pump a little ragtime life into the overplayed staple of Wild Mountain Thyme.

As festival promoters look to fill their bills for next summer, theuy could do a lot worse than sign up this lot up.

Another release on Joe Bonamassa’s label. Things must be on the up when you see a mum with her RJ&TW T shirt in the local Lidl… The unfettered Southern rootsy Country blues rock powers from the relentless thrash and cobweb removing of the opening Sittin’ Pretty with an unrelenting barrage of energy and unfiltered passion.

The Wreck might not be reinventing the genre, but add their own raw signature style and when they kick into Dark Angel with a flurry of guitar picking that makes for the riff, it’s hard not to be seduced. The barrelhouse funk on Better Of Me is great fun where the American drawl gets milked for all its worth and sprinkled with a shower of Bluesy coating.

The title track provides that concession to something that’s equivalent to the power ballad of the genre, but gets balanced with a tremendous finale with Keep Myself Clean. Stop start riffing and a real humdinger of a riff and nine albums in, here’s more evidence to convert the unbelievers.

Slightly late but very welcome 20th anniversary reissue of Toronto singer-songwriter Hayden’s 4th album – in 180g vinyl (single and double LP formats).

The Juno and Polaris Prize nominee is often cited as a key influence by The National’s Matt Berninger and Aaron Dressner. Elk-Lake Seranade is a collection of evocative and often beautiful songs, including the magical opening track, Wide Eyes, the warm This Summer, the jazzy Starting Over and the lush, harmonious, Roll Down That Wave. Will definitely appeal to lovers of the acoustic Neil Young and, particularly, of Nick Drake.

Described as: “…a thematic tightrope walk between sincerity and irony, anger and absurdity,” Contempt, the second album from Brighton alt-rock trio, PROJECTOR, is an album that serves up provocation and humour in equal measure. since forming in 2018, PROJECTOR have woven industrial brutalism into hook-laden alt-rock and sculpted lush harmonies over frenzied post-punk. With Contempt, the band dig deeper than ever into the contradictions that define them.

PROJECTOR’s music reflects their admiration of influences such as The Pixies and My Bloody Valentine, whilst their lyrics are laced with references as diverse as Yeats, Greek Mythology and The Simpsons. Highlights of Contempt include the riotous opening track. The Sham! The Sham! The Sham!, lead single, It Surely Has Been Hell – described by guitarist/vocalist Edward as: “A very hateful song… but quite lonely as well,” and the hilarious, if disturbing S.O.M.O.D. (an acronym for ‘Sucking on my own dick’…)

Formed in Woolwich in 1982, Your Heterosexual Violence stuck with the DIY punk ethos of manic performance and a musical style that veered – sometimes violently – between Buzzcocks-style punk fizz and cosmic jazz meltdowns. The band ceased operations in 2018, but YHV is back; sharper, stranger and, in an age where racism, sexism and intolerance are all around us, more vital than ever.

Some People Have Too Much to Say gets straight to the point, confronting – via the media of poetry, wit, humour and scorn – the modern world of hot takes, unfiltered feeds and the permanently online. Listen to songs like House Outside the World – the album’s powerful lead single – or the provocative Love Will and you’ll get the point. Immediately.

Summarising, Your Heterosexual Violence frontman Brian O’Brien says: “… Does anyone really want a whole bunch of songs about some old bloke’s misery without at least being able to have a laugh here and there? If anyone just wants the grief and the pain, buy a Nick Cave album, instead of ours.”

The latest in author Richard Houghton‘s series of People’s Histories – stories of some of our most iconic bands and musicians, told by the people who matter – the fans. The series includes the stories of legends such as Thin Lizzy, Simple Minds and The Faces – as well as two volumes covering Fairport Convention. And, that’s perhaps where this latest volume enters the fray.

A founding member of Fairport, Iain Matthews left the band in 1969 to further a career that now spans 60 years – and counting. along the way, he’s enjoyed a number one single in the guise of Matthews’ Southern Comfort with a devastating cover of Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock, as well as US chart success with his version of Terence Boylan’s Shake It. Over the years, Iain has performed and recorded with numerous collaborators, including Plainsong, Hi-Fi, No Grey Faith and The Salmon Smokers – and it’s almost impossible to count the number of albums he has to his name. He’s still producing high-quality music, too, as evidenced by his November 2024 album, How Much is Enough.

Iain Matthews: A People’s History is a worthy addition to the People’s History canon. Packed with contributions from many of Iain’s musical collaborators, the book also includes over 100 close-and-personal fan recollections and loads of fan photos and images. The book will be published on 25th October by Spenwood Books.

Woah, that name is a bit of a proustian rush, it seeming forever since Darryl Way was being touted as the future of rock. Or one of them, the onetime Curved Air violinist offering a potent antidote to the otherwise wall to wall guitars howling around him. For a brief period, bookended lazily between Curved Air playing Back Street Luv on Top of the Pops, and Wolf unceremonoiusly falling apart after only three albums, he was the best known violinist in the land.

Here all three their albums get a re-boot, Canis Lupus, Saturation Point, both from 1973, and 1974’s Night Music, along with 5 tracks from a BBC In Concert, also from 1973. In true Cherry Red completness, all singles and additional B sides are hoovered up and included.

Featuring such later luminaries as John Ethridge (Soft Machine), Dek Messecar (Caravan) and Ian Mosley (Marillion), their initially largely instrumental classical and jazz-rock fusion broadened, as ex-If vocalist, John Hodgkinson came on board for their final release, possibly their finest showing. All in all, an impressive 3 disc time capsule.

Saxophonist and composer Kasper Rietkerk won the inaugural Brubeck Living Legacy Prize, which supports promising jazz musicians who are
at an early stage of their career. On this his second album, Kasper Rietkerk builds on that achievement, offering a captivating musical range and mood setting, enabling his saxophone work to really take flight.

The accompanying musicians include John Parricelli (guitar), Tom Herbert (double and electric bass), Jonah Evans (drums), and guest vocalist Rebecka Edlund. They provide a magnificent open platform for Kasper Rietkerk’s inventive original compositions.

Highlights include the atmospheric and beautifully meandering Mayfly, and Scream for Silence, where vocalist Rebecka Edlund impressively match’s the flow and emotion of Kasper Rietkerk’s intricate saxophone
phrases.

Tea Lights illustrates the improvisation prowess of this ensemble, where an intense groove and developing a musical theme in unpredictable
directions, creates an infectious and memorable piece of music. The album is a very rewarding listen.

The mercurial guitarist returns with the follow up to 2024’s My Years With UFO in the second part of what’s seemingly an autobiographical trilogy.

Recorded with his current touring band which includes another journeyman singer in Erik Grönwall, Schenker rips out the galloping title track with its clear lyric of self reflection and the uplifting Eye Of The Storm adds weight to the Schenker Armour.

The Chosen One goes more moody and atmospheric, the Classic Rock trademark briefly giving way to a wild ride of a solo but those years with UFO might get a nudge with the Rock Bottom-esque riffing on It’s You and Sixstring Shotgun as Erik delivering in a style that gives a clue as to what a fantasy Schenker/Dio partnership might have sounded like.

Ultimately, Don’t Sell Your Soul is a shot of quality Hard Rock from an iconic guitarist; no frills, Schenker delivers the goods in style. The UFO songs of the late Seventies may the the highlight of his legacy, but it’s good to hear him in solo guise again as we anticipate his next, probably an unlikely one, move

A combination of Doom, Black Metal, Rock, ambient, even cinematic atmospheres are conjured from a core of Rock, occult Doom, Psychedelia, and Metal, by the Belgian coven deal in despondency and darkness with a real passion.

The outlook is bleak and stark. Lead guitarist Marc De Backer says how  “This world has had its chance, and our species has failed utterly. This procession is the soundtrack of our extinction, plain and simple.” He’s not wrong as the lengthy double album explores the depths via soaring overdriven riffing, huge crescendos and a surprising but welcome array of subtlety and industrial soundscapes.

Damnation or deliverance (as it was once marked by Opeth) has never sounded so liberating or inspiring. The robust instrumental passages and ambiences that come in Burial and ominous Things That Breathe Are Death mark territories that are both brutal and tender.

A fearsome finale – The Last Chamber – adds the final nail in the coffin for an album – an experience – that feeds on the apocalyptic and the intense.

In what’s promised as the start of a trilogy, Green Carnation channel the Norwegian psyche in a path that might be loosely termed Prog Metal, yet exemplifies the extremes of the two genres in a fascinating combo.

Six tracks make up the initial gambit of Pt.1 that extends the Progressive and the Metal formats yet without a reliance on over indulgence or displays of technical prowess. While The Slave That You Are is built upon a dastardly sharp riff and aggressive vocal, Too Close To The Flame (great romp of an instrumental passage in its nine minutes plus) does similar while not without a melodic hook or two.

The title track might hint at something more reflective, but offers more in terms of a gateway track combining undeniably seductive melodies and dramatic incidents. An ambitious aeries that may address the heady themes of alienation, existential questions down to the very inner self, but an exciting musical journey.