Arun Sood: Searching Erskine review – elegy to a Hebridean past
This gorgeous sonic tribute to the abandoned island of Vallay, where the artist’s grandmother once lived, is filled with folk memory and longing
Judy Collins: Spellbound review – nostalgic first album of originals
The folk legend’s first ever collection of self-written songs gazes back over a life lived with exquisite effect
Oki: Tonkori in the Moonlight review – joyous celebration of a dying art form
The Ainu maestro curates a collection that gives his people’s endangered ancient sound a modern lease of life – with dub, harmony and dazzling percussion
Anaïs Mitchell: Anaïs Mitchell review – walking out of Hades
After her Broadway success with Hadestown, the indie folk artist returns with a set of lowkey but polished melodic gems, boasting sharp lyrics and striking emotional gear-changes
Ben McElroy: How I Learnt to Disengage from the Pack review – shining a light in tough times
A shivering seabed of sound, haunted by barely there vocals and stitched together with lo-fi production – McElroy has made a beautiful early year listen
Jerusalem in My Heart: Qalaq review – bearing witness to a manufactured apocalypse
Radwan Ghazi Moumneh and avant garde peers collaborate on a defiant, vulnerable lament for Lebanon
Spell Songs II: Let the Light In review – a magical return to nature
In this captivating follow-up, the stellar folk collective give voice to more magical meditations on nature from Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris
Devin Hoff: Voices from the Empty Moor review – stellar lineup for the twists of Anne Briggs
The experimentally minded bassist and star guests including Sharon Van Etten and Julia Holter create these unusual reimaginings, though the vocals don’t always suit Briggs’s songs
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss: Raise the Roof review – uplifting and enthralling
From blue-eyed soul to English folk, the unlikely dream team’s second instalment of covers is a welcome dose of musical reassurance
Doran: Doran review – magical ‘freak folk’ with a centuries-old sound
Elizabeth LaPrelle of Anna & Elizabeth anchors the four-piece behind this comforting, intimate album of a cappella harmonies and Appalachian ballads
Various artists: In the Echo – Field Recordings from Earlsfort Terrace review – a venue enlivened by song
Recording for the 150th anniversary of Dublin’s National Concert Hall, a stellar roster of Irish musicians turn out treasures old and new
Quantic and Nidia Góngora: Almas Conectadas review – Colombian gold-panners go orchestral
Pacific coast cantora Góngora’s nature-rooted compositions are given larger dimensions by British electronica producer Quantic
Broadside Hacks: Songs Without Authors Vol 1 review – contemporary artists tinker with tradition
The folk project led by Sorry’s Campbell Baum offers new takes on anonymously composed tunes, with varying success
BBCSSO/Volkov/ Kopatchinskaja review – Bartók’s roots unearthed with brilliance
The band Folktone cleverly swapped notes with Patricia Kopatchinskaja before the violinist whipped up a joyous musical whirlwind of Bartók and Ligeti
Big Red Machine: How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? review – slightly self-indulgent supergroup
Aaron Dessner and Justin ‘Bon Iver’ Vernon recruit Taylor Swift, Fleet Foxes and more for this album full of misty autumnal beauty – and a quiet punch