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Review of The Pearl Album (Live in Celebration)

The Pearl Album (Live in Celebration)

Danú

Danu Music

Rating: ★★★★

Alternating songs with jigs, reels, slides, marches, hornpipes and airs, The Pearl Album celebrates 30 years of music making by...

Reviewed by Tim Cumming in issue: June/2025

Review of Kaira

Kaira

Toumani Diabaté | Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté

Chrysalis Records

Rating: ★★★★★

This was the album that created an icon. The late Toumani Diabaté released his debut Kaira in 1988 and it...

Reviewed by Alexandra Petropoulos in issue: April/2025

Review of Ti Galé

Ti Galé

René Lacaille

Top of the World

Lamastrock / Do Bwa

Rating: ★★★★

Ti Galé is an album of exuberant solo accordion music by René Lacaille, venerable master of sega, the dance music...

Reviewed by Julian May in issue: May/2025

Review of Two Boats Under the Moon

Two Boats Under the Moon

Donald WG Lindsay

Donald WG Lindsay

Rating: ★★★★

Those who have followed Donald Lindsay’s musical output may be surprised to learn that Two Boats Under the Moon is...

Reviewed by Huw Hennessy in issue: July/2025

Review of Tuff Times Never Last

Tuff Times Never Last

Kokoroko

Brownswood Recordings

Rating: ★★★★

Seven-piece collective Kokoroko are one of a clutch of UK acts that channel the righteous grooves of Afrobeat into their...

Reviewed by Andrew Taylor-Dawson in issue: September/2025

Review of Northern Rhapsody

Northern Rhapsody

Eishan Ensemble

ACEL Productions

Rating: ★★★★

Led by Persian tar virtuoso and composer Hamed Sadeghi, Sydney-based jazz quartet Eishan Ensemble return with their fourth album –...

Reviewed by Charlie Cawood in issue: August/2025

Review of All Tied Together

All Tied Together

Ye Vagabonds

Top of the World

River Lea/Rough Trade

Rating: ★★★★

The fourth album from the brothers Diarmuid and Brian MacGloinn and their collaborators is packed with fine melodies and great...

Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: February/March/2026

Review of Istanbul Sessions: Mahalle

Istanbul Sessions: Mahalle

Ilhan Ersahin

Nublu Records

Rating: ★★★★

Here’s the sixth studio LP by Istanbul Sessions, the collective assembled by Turkish tenor saxophonist and Nublu empire-founder Ilhan Ersahin....

Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: April/2026

Review of Trance Gamelan in Bali

Trance Gamelan in Bali

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Felmay

Rating: ★★★★

If you can imagine a piece of cutting-edge electronica being played over the “party in the background” noises that you...

Reviewed by John Whitfieldft in issue: Jan/Feb/2011

Review of Footwork

Footwork

Lewis Wood

Top of the World

Grimdon Records

Rating: ★★★★

The debut album from English fiddler Lewis Wood is something of a concept album – and it’s a nice concept. Footwork...

Reviewed by Nathaniel Handy in issue: August/September/2022

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