Reviews

Àse

BOM

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

Reviewed in issue July/2025

Stealing Time

Matthew Byrne

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

Reviewed in issue July/2025

Darrere els Horts/Behind the Orchards

Ferran Orriols

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

Reviewed in issue July/2025

Divergence

Freya Rae

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

Reviewed in issue July/2025

BEATrio

Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda & Antonio Sánchez

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 in issue July/2025

Gamble

Zoé Basha

Gamble, Zoé Basha’s debut album, is a worthy introduction to the Dublin-based French-American singer-songwriter’s music. Drawing upon structural and stylistic...

Reviewed in issue July/2025

Tidawt

Ahmed Ag Kaedy & Will Guthrie

This new tape from Malian guitarist Ahmed Ag Kaedy and Australian drummer Will Guthrie is full of dynamism. The hot...

Reviewed in issue July/2025

Hawalat

Charif Megarbane

It’s been hard keeping track of the work of Charif Megarbane. The Lebanese composer and multi-instrumentalist has released dozens of...

Reviewed in issue July/2025

Teleology

Peggy Seeger

If this really is the final album from Peggy Seeger, then the great lady is going out in style. Released...

Reviewed in issue July/2025

Cosmic Griots

The Afronauts

Consistently funky and smile-inducing multi-diasporic Polish band The Afronauts channel the classic Afrobeat sound of Fela Kuti, the Ghanaian highlife...

Reviewed in issue July/2025