Joanna Newsom

Ys

(Drag City, 2006)

I discovered this album when visiting my older sister in Stirling, Scotland, where she was studying at the time. Wondering around the lovely wee cobbled streets, I came across a record shop and heard this voice coming from the speakers inside. [Newsom’s] voice and melody struck me instantly. I bought the album there and have been a massive fan ever since. I’d never heard anything like it. Her lyrics, melodies and arrangements are a constant source of inspiration. The playful way with words, polyrhythmic harp lines and the idiosyncratic orchestration; it was a game changer. Her last album, Divers, is possibly her best, but it’s Ys that got me hooked.

Paul Brady

Welcome Here Kind Stranger

(Mulligan, 1978)

There actually wasn’t an awful lot of Irish music in the house growing up, so I sort of missed all the folk revival stuff on this side of the pond. It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I started listening to albums by the likes of Paul Brady and Andy Irvine. This is one that I always go back to. The arrangements are perfectly balanced, and Brady’s voice is just so beautiful on every track. You’ll hear so many of these songs at folk clubs and sessions around the country for a reason. And it’s because of Brady’s unique and timeless arrangements; I don’t think any other Irish singer has been able to do that so well since.

Million Dead

Harmony No Harmony

(Xtra Mile Recordings, 2005)

It might come as a surprise to some people to see a post-hardcore band on this list, but I had to include this. I’ve never stopped enjoying it and can still vividly remember listening to it for the first time when I was 15, lying on my bed and being sort of confused, intrigued and excited at the same time. That is my favourite feeling with new music and I’m always chasing it. The way this album was mixed was not for everyone, but I loved it. The vocals are a little lower compared to everything so when the guitars go full pelt it feels massive. Frank Turner’s lyrics are as good as anything he’s done since and Tom Fowler’s guitar playing is magnificent.

The Books

The Lemon of Pink

(Temporary Residence, 2011)

This band entirely changed the way I thought about making music. It was like all the rules were torn up and anything was possible. Good music is almost always hard to label. You could call this sound-collage, folktronica, experimental indie and you still wouldn’t get a true sense of what these guys were up to. Compiling archives of found sounds from old cassettes and VHS, cutting them up and arranging them with guitars, cello, banjo, electronics, drum samples and all kinds of sonic experiments. The production is so unique, I still haven’t heard anything like it. In the space of one track you almost never hear the same sound twice, which makes it all so exciting.

Simon & Garfunkel

Bridge Over Troubled Water

(Columbia Records, 1970)

Every song is a classic. I grew up listening to these songs and Simon’s lyrical voice has always been a template for me. There’s something a little bit silly and whimsical about some of the lyrics that I just love. ‘I get all the news I need from the weather report… I’ve got nothing to do today but smile’. And then [they] can break your heart with the sweetest melody and simplest line, ‘this is my tune for the taking, take it don’t turn away’.

I still get goosebumps every time I hear the opening chords of ‘El Cóndor Pasa [(If I Could)]’. ‘Cecilia,’ ‘The Only Living Boy in New York’ and ‘Song for the Asking’ are all woven into my musical DNA. The variation on this album is one of my favourite aspects of it, every song brings something completely new to the table.