Reviews
Lisané Bahir
Lisané Bahir, the fourth offering from LA-based Ethiopian keys player Kibrom Birhane is an otherworldly set deftly combining tradition with...
Reviewed by Andrew Taylor-Dawson in issue: January/2026
Dreaming In Gamelan
This Canadian venture follows a long line of music that has been inspired by the Indonesian gamelan, but has moved...
Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: January/2026
Nusantara Beat
Nusantara Beat emerged from Amsterdam’s fertile psychedelic scene, its assorted members having previously played in acclaimed acts like Anatolian rockers...
Reviewed by Paul Bowler in issue: January/2026
La Marea
BAFTA Award-winning Latin American composer Bryan Senti returns with a companion piece to his previous album, Manu. Whereas that record...
Reviewed by Chris Wheatley in issue: January/2026
The Strangers’ Share
The Strangers’ Share sits somewhere west of Cornwall, out there where English mingles with Americana. This Cambridge-based folk duo are...
Reviewed by Nathaniel Handy in issue: January/2026
Conflict
Pounding drums, driving electric guitar and forthright vocals – this is rock-folk rather than folk-rock. As Prior states on the...
Reviewed by Julian May in issue: January/2026
KROK
Belarusian group СОЮЗ (SOYUZ) have released an album that, reflecting their in-transit status, is tricky to place geographically. After relocating...
Reviewed by Clyde Macfarlane in issue: January/2026
Shy Girl
London-based singer-songwriter Hollie Cook returns with a fifth album that sees her outgrow her feel-good, pop-heavy origins into a punchy...
Reviewed by Clyde Macfarlane in issue: January/2026
Maqam Pilgrims
Egyptian-born oud player and composer Mustafa Said is one of the most illustrious names in Arabic music today. Born blind,...
Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: January/2026
Songs of Truth
A plucked, multi-string instrument, the bandura is synonymous with Ukraine. For centuries, it was played by blind bards, the kobzari,...
Reviewed by Keith Howard in issue: January/2026
