Reviews
Yatta!
While Dutch outfit YĪN YĪN first made their name through an amalgam of psychedelic rock and Southeast Asian styles, their...
Reviewed by Paul Bowler in issue: February/March/2026
New Quartet: Live At Pierre Boulez Saal
Mainly known as a trumpeter, but also a fine singer and santur specialist, the Iraqi-American Amir ElSaffar has been honing...
Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: February/March/2026
Gil Brenton
Seventies folk provides the throbbing heart of the mighty Magpie Arc’s second full-length album, Gil Brenton. The title-track opens with...
Reviewed by Billy Rough in issue: February/March/2026
Rumba Africa
Emerging from the Congo, and flourishing even during that painful era when the country was renamed Zaire, African rumba became...
Reviewed by Robin Denselow in issue: February/March/2026
Stafell Sbâr Sain: Tŷ Gwerin
Stafell Sbâr Sain (Sain’s Spare Room) is a vibrant showcase of Welsh folk at its most diverse and inventive. Released...
Reviewed by Elliw Iwan in issue: February/March/2026
Bebop Havana
Belinda Guerra y Su Cuban Jazz Ensemble
On ‘Afroancestros’, the longest and loosest track on this distinguished debut, the young Cuban bandleader shines on both alto sax...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: February/March/2026
Dislocated Pulse
The debut album by Persian kamancheh virtuoso and composer Mehrnam Rastegari is a short but sharp statement, brimming with confidence...
Reviewed by Charlie Cawood in issue: February/March/2026
Invented Folksongs
Anna Pidgorna is a Ukrainian-Canadian singer and composer, currently residing in Vancouver. Despite this album’s title, her works possess a...
Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: February/March/2026
Krope
There are three key elements to this environmental journey of an album. This Belarusian sound-shaper, from Minsk, captures carefully placed...
Reviewed by Martin Longley in issue: February/March/2026
Jardin d’ailleurs
Gaëlle Bagot & Juan Manuel Nieto
The piano-clarinet duet format, with vocals sung mainly in French, would not be my first choice, but this new release...
Reviewed by James Catchpole in issue: February/March/2026
