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Reviews

Review of Àse

Àse

BOM

Paper Recordings

Rating: ★★★

From British electronic dance music specialists, Den Davis and Tom Lonsborough, here’s a cheerfully varied and upbeat African-influenced set named...

Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: July/2025

Review of Cowboy Sutra

Cowboy Sutra

Hal Cannon

Okehdokee Records

Rating: ★★★★

In Cowboy Sutra, Hal Cannon, a specialist in early Utah folk music and a founding member of 3hattrio, mines the...

Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: July/2025

Review of Stealing Time

Stealing Time

Matthew Byrne

Matthew Byrne

Rating: ★★★★

I rarely use the phrase ‘golden voice’, but on this new album from Newfoundland folk singer Matthew Byrne, his voice...

Reviewed by Devon Léger in issue: July/2025

Review of Church of Kidane Mehret

Church of Kidane Mehret

Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru

Mississippi Records

Rating: ★★★

In the years since the death of Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru in 2023, we have been lucky to hear archival...

Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: July/2025

Review of Darrere els Horts/Behind the Orchards

Darrere els Horts/Behind the Orchards

Ferran Orriols

Great Canyon Records

Rating: ★★★★

In the liner notes to Catalan singer-songwriter Ferran Orriols’ second album, Darrere els Horts, what stands out is the sheer...

Reviewed by Fred Waine in issue: July/2025

Review of Glaschu – Songs to a City

Glaschu – Songs to a City

Màiri MacMillan

Màiri MacMillan

Rating: ★★★★

Native Gaelic speaker Màiri MacMillan transforms three decades of Glasgow life into a stunning musical tribute with her new album...

Reviewed by Peter Quinn in issue: July/2025

Review of Divergence

Divergence

Freya Rae

Mere Cat Records

Rating: ★★★★

Scottish multi-instrumentalist Freya Rae’s new album, Divergence, is a stirring collection of self-composed tunes that riff on traditional sets and...

Reviewed by Billy Rough in issue: July/2025

Review of BEATrio

BEATrio

Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda & Antonio Sánchez

Béla Fleck Productions/Thirty Tigers

Rating: ★★★★

In 2024, after a 12-show run at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village, gazillion-time Grammy-winning, globe-trotting, banjo maestro Béla Fleck,...

Reviewed by Doug Deloach in issue: July/2025

Review of Useza

Useza

Chaka Chawasarira

Nyege Nyege Tapes

Rating: ★★★★

Among the Shona communities of northeastern Zimbabwe, the matepe, a type of mbira, is used to evoke trance states to...

Reviewed by Olivia Cheves in issue: July/2025

Review of Man Shall Be Free

Man Shall Be Free

Amamere

afro urban project

Rating: ★★★

This Ghanaian group’s debut is a fresh collection of highlife jams. Guitar lines unwind through the compositions like a labyrinthine...

Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: July/2025

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