Time Is a Buffalo in the Art of War
(andywhite.com)
★★★

BELFAST singer-songwriter Andy White’s career spans 30 years, including collaborations with artists such as Peter Gabriel.

Following on from themes on his previous album The Guilty and the Innocent, the album’s subtitle is: “It’s Our World and This is How I See It” and, without being overtly political, the nine tracks attempt to come to terms with the bigger picture we are all faced with.

Opener Last Train, on which we’re asked to picture a host of different characters hurtling through the night, is followed by The Shit Hits the Fan and Running Round in Circles, while the last two tracks Armaggedon#4 and Everyone's Gone to France query whether there is a way out or a better future.

An orchestra and brass section enhance what is an interesting album, although some tracks work better than others.

Hannah James and the Jigdoll Ensemble
The Woman and her Words
(jigdoll.co.uk)
★★★★★

VOCALIST, accordionist and dancer Hannah James is one of the most talented new figures on the British folk scene. Part of the excellent vocal trio Lady Maisery, she has recently embarked on a new project called the Jigdoll Ensemble and this album with an international line-up of musicians is the culmination of their work.

Exploring themes of community, opener Canal Song makes a plea for green spaces in our inner cities, while the title track looks at gender roles and the negative impact of toxic masculinity on both men and women.

Dayspring pays tribute to the awakening of young people in the student anti-gun movement in the US and the environmental movement here, a theme also explored in Hush Now, written after the 2018 Florida school shooting.

Ending with clog-dancing tune Shields Time, this is truly an innovative and enchanting record.

Martyn Joseph
Days of Decision: A Tribute to Phil Ochs
(Pipe Records)
★★★★

MARTYN JOSEPH has been writing and performing songs related to social justice for the last three decades, so it seems fitting that he should release an album paying tribute to the great US protest singer Phil Ochs.

As we start 2020 with the possibility of being plunged into more wars and climate catastrophe, it seems some of the songs on this album are needed more than ever. The scene is set by a rousing rendition of the anti-war I Ain’t Marching Anymore, followed by other classics from Ochs’s repertoire such as Days of Decision and the poignant When I’m Gone.

With sleeve notes from Ochs’s sister Sonny, this is a worthy tribute, whether you are a long-term fan like me or someone just starting to explore the work of this troubled and sadly departed artist.