Milkweed: Folklore 1979 review – tantalisingly strange folk vignettes
The duo’s third release clocks in at 10 minutes but packs in zithers, traditional pipes and a perennial feeling of dread
Katherine Priddy: The Pendulum Swing review – a rich, poised second album
The Birmingham folk artist’s exceptional voice shines through on a confident, expansive second album themed around the pull and push of home
Hirondelle: Hirondelle review – the Brothers Gillespie’s Franco-Scottish adventure
The Northumberland duo team up with Provençal trio Tant Que Li Siam and Trio Mythos for an elegant folk-classical journey
Molly Tuttle review – galloping bluegrass as fun as a campfire jam
The US singer-songwriter is a virtuoso guitarist – with a galvanising charm that electrifies her audience
Muireann Bradley: I Kept These Old Blues review – a playful take on American classics
The teenage Irish singer turned to her guitar during Covid, and this album of traditional blues tracks showcases her dexterity and elegance
Lankum review – more like an exorcism than a gig
The Dublin doom-folk favourites crown a momentous year with a magnificent assault on the senses and a set rich in hypnotic tales of woe
Soema Montenegro: Círculo Radiante review – an intoxicating journey around South American song
This fifth album by the Argentinian singer, poet and shaman is a passionate celebration of Latin music – and the sun
You Are Wolf: Hare // Hunter // Moth // Ghost review – bursting with spirit
With Sam Lee and Robert Macfarlane guesting, Kerry Andrew shows a knack for experimentation, deploying playground rhymes, birdsong and even their radiator
Harp: Albion review – former Midlake frontman traipses through twilight
Tim Smith’s first album with Kathi Zung takes inspiration from William Blake and the Cure to create a landscape of 80s reverb and ghostly vocals
John Francis Flynn: Look Over the Wall, See the Sky review – a blast of the past
Expect white noise and growling guitars as the Dublin folk singer follows his acclaimed debut with more boundary-pushing takes on tradition
An 80th Birthday Concert for Bert Jansch review – moving homage to 60s folk guitar hero
Pentangle’s Jacqui McShee as well as Robert Plant, Bernard Butler and Sam Lee were among stellar acts celebrating the late musician in impressive style
ØXN: CYRM review – Irish folk debut full of unsettling dark magic
Featuring grisly trad tales, striking vocals, two members of Lankum and shades of PJ Harvey, this is a compelling record from Claddagh’s first signing for nearly two decades
Billy Bragg: The Roaring Forty review – four decades of flying the flag
Austere, melodic, at times heartbreaking – the music of Britain’s foremost protest singer gets an evocative overview in this nuanced compilation
Maple Glider: I Get Into Trouble review – delicate songs of rage and religious trauma
The Melbourne singer-songwriter’s second album catalogues the aftershocks of her Christian upbringing – and moments of joy in between
Sufjan Stevens: Javelin review – US indie folk hero hits every target
The singer-songwriter’s 10th album fuses his acoustic and electronic impulses to stunning effect