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Reviews

Review of Neu Om

Neu Om

Amanda Mur

La Castanya

Rating: ★★★★

Amanda Mur’s debut album spins like a richly gothic journey through the netherworld. Ranging from ambience to avant garde, the...

Reviewed by Rosie Esther Solomon in issue: August/2025

Review of Old Time Fantasias

Old Time Fantasias

Joseph Allred

Scissor Tail Records

Rating: ★★★★

Tennessee-based guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Joseph Allred is probably best known for his work as a solo musician, his earlier offerings...

Reviewed by Glenn Kimpton in issue: August/2025

Review of Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic XVII: Gnawa World Blues

Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic XVII: Gnawa World Blues

Majid Bekkas with Nguyên Lê, Hamid Drake

ACT Music

Rating: ★★

Gimbri and oud player Bekkas, guitarist Lê and drummer Drake: each has an extensive CV of collaboration through and between...

Reviewed by Jim Hickson in issue: August/2025

Review of Ar Lagad-Bleiz

Ar Lagad-Bleiz

Spontus

Klam Records

Rating: ★★

Breton dance quartet Spontus are renowned for the proficiency of their playing. In their music, violin, bass, acoustic guitar and...

Reviewed by Fred Waine in issue: August/2025

Review of The Makam: Oud (Live Performance at Karaca Garage)

The Makam: Oud (Live Performance at Karaca Garage)

Baha Yetkin

Karaca Music

Rating: ★★★★

Born in Istanbul, Turkish ud virtuoso Baha Yetkin has cultivated a busy career as a performer and composer over the...

Reviewed by Charlie Cawood in issue: August/2025

Review of Counterclockwise

Counterclockwise

Faun Fables

Drag City Records

Rating: ★★★★

Long-running Californian folkers Dawn McCarthy and Nils Frykdahl have delivered an epic and ambitious slice of weird Wicca folk with...

Reviewed by Glenn Kimpton in issue: August/2025

Review of Elan

Elan

The Gentle Good

Bubblewrap Records

Rating: ★★★★

A confessed city boy, Gareth Bonello, aka The Gentle Good, wrote this album during a year-long residency in Wales’ Elan...

Reviewed by Elliw Iwan in issue: August/2025

Review of Pōpoloheno: Songs of Resilience & Joy

Pōpoloheno: Songs of Resilience & Joy

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Mahealani Uchiyama

Rating: ★★★★

A beautifully curated collection of music, Pōpoloheno: Songs of Resilience & Joy doubles as a powerful moment of acknowledgement of...

Reviewed by Sosefina Fuamoli in issue: August/2025

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

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