Back catalogue: Folk/Americana

Review: Sometimes it's just too difficult to contain our excitement; we're quaking in our boots at news of Khruangbin's next release, with the Texan three-piece this time lending their alt-indie-funk mastery to vocal frontage by Leon Bridges. The humorously titled lead single 'B-side' is emblematic of their stated aim here - to redefine "how people perceive Texas music i that beautiful marriage of country and r'n'b i and really paying homage to that." The sonic result? Bubbling bass and wahhy riffs, over a ghostly and misty relaxers' beat. Its hook digs into our thighs deeper than a Sheriff's steel spurs, and fittingly, it's music video is themed after a 19th Century western town.

Review: Noah Kahan released his third album to critical acclaim in 2022, perfecting the sound of his full-bodied take on anthemic modern folk and Americana. 'Northern Attitude' sums up his approach perfectly, juxtaposing moments of tender fragility with powerful, driving surges of chorus that could fill a stadium. This balance of intimacy and bombast is precisely why he's such a success story, crafting the kind of songs that can burrow into your heart and wind up soundtracking an emotive scene in a future summer blockbuster. There's been a wait for this limited chestnut brown edition of the album, but here it is, pressed up and looking as fine as it sounds.

Review: Few could argue with Liverpool's claims as a city in possessions of one of Europe's most enduring musical legacies, but sometimes this can work against a town once the smoke clears and hysteria subsides. Suffice to say, many of Merseyside's biggest and best loved names have either long since hung up their instruments or faded into heritage territory, but every once in a while you're reminded how fertile the place is right now.

King Hannah have been a long time coming. Founding members Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle long dreamt of forming a proper band, both having musical stories to tell long before opting to work together. We're very glad they did, with the results this dark, brooding, sexy, sophisticated, gritty interpretation of rock. Hypnotic, groovy, delicate in all the right places but with enough bite to take your head clean off without a second thought. As this double package containing debut EP and album proves.

Review: This Record Store Day 2023 exclusive Carole King album, The Legendary Demos, pulls together 13 demo recordings of hers from between 1962 and 1971 on nice milky clear vinyl. It was first put out over a decade ago in 2012 and remains a cult favourite amongst fans who appreciate the realness and the rawness of the recordings as well as hearing the slightly different takes on a number of well known songs of hers. The pop rock queen includes the likes of 'Crying in the Rain' from early 1962 right up to several 1971 tunes from her hit album that year, Tapestry. A must have for fans old and new.

Review: Given that he's been delivering DIY releases as Kitchen Cynics since the late 1980s, it can be to know where to start with Alan Davidson's vast back catalogue. Happily, the Trilogy Tapes has come up with a solution: Beads Upon an Abacus, a career retrospective compiled by Jack Murphy that offers an excellent introduction to the Aberdeen-based artist's distinctive work. It's well worth checking, too, because Davidson's trademark style -a lo-fi and hissing blend of rudimentary electronics, hazy folk revivalism, layered guitar-scapes and oddly traditional instrument choices - is never less than invigorating, alluring and hugely entertaining. If you've yet to bathe in his unique musical explorations, don't sleep on this fine compilation.

Review: Les Abranis are a pioneering Algerian band known for having mixed up traditional Berber music with Western rock, folk, disco and funk. At the same time they never lost sight of their Kabyle heritage and as such really made a mark on the Maghrebi music scene all across the world from Algeria to France. This new collection Amazigh Freedom Rock 1973-1983 comes five years after Chenar le Blues/Avehri and is a deep dive into the band's discography. It spans everything from their early garage-rock experimentations to lush orchestrations and North African fusion gems from the 1980s.