Julie Abbe
Numberless Dreams
(julieabbe.com)
★★★★

JULIE ABBE is a Bristol-based folk and jazz singer who, as well as possessing a beautiful voice, is a talented cello and concertina  player.

Her debut folk album brings together poems by WB Yeats which she has put to music as well as some traditional folk songs, mainly from Ireland.

Set to Abbe’s own distinctive arrangements, the album starts with the Yeats poems A Song to His Beloved and The Song of Wondering Aengus and there are haunting renditions of traditional songs like Courting Is a Pleasure and As I Roved Out as well as the Sandy Denny-inspired The Boatman.

Another Yeats poem He Wishes for The Cloths of Heaven concludes an album that is a joy to listen to and leaves you hoping there will be much more to come.

Fairport Convention
Shuffle and Go
(Matty Groves Records)
★★★★★

LEGENDARY British folk-rock band Fairport Convention have been entertaining audiences at concerts and festivals for over half a century and this 30th studio album is a welcome addition to their catalogue.

It should delight old and new fans alike.

None of the thirteen tracks have been previously recorded and they display a variety of themes and tempo which show they don’t have to rely on greatest-hits nostalgia.

The title track, written by Chris Leslie, is a joyous tribute to Morris Dancers, while A Thousand Bars is a tribute and lament to the traditional pub as tastes change. And there is also a celebratory song Jolly Springtime, written by another folk-rock legend, James Taylor.

So pour yourself a pint or two of real ale and sit back and enjoy this album. You will almost certainly yearn for more.

John Blek
The Embers
K&F Records
★★★

THIS fifth album from Cork-based artist John Blek gives the listener an enjoyable collection of songs, with fingerpicking-style guitar.

With all the songs penned by Blek himself it’s hard to categorise him as a traditional folk singer — he’s more in the vein of the contemplative singer-songwriter reflecting on life and love.

Opening song Empty Pockets explore the hopes of a broke homeless busker but who has freedom in his heart, while the themes of Death and his Daughter Fair and The Haunting are reminiscent of the darker side of some traditional songs, while final track Walls reflects on borders and divisions.

The songs may not have the most cheerful of lyrics but they do draw you into the stories told and the lives of the people involved.