Esta semana

Review: Arabic funk, soul and folk specialists Habibi Funk are masters at digging deep to find extremely rare and unreleased music. Even so, their latest offering is particularly obscure. It's a retrospective of 1970s material by a Lebanese singer-songwriter called Roger Fakhr, who put out one self-released tape in the mid 1970s, of which only 200 copies were ever made. Some of those songs feature on this retrospective, but the majority of the material is unreleased tracks from Fakhr's archive. Interestingly, the majority of the music on offer is sung in English rather than Arabic and sits somewhere between American railroad blues, English revivalist folk of the sort popular in the late '60s and early '70s, sun-soaked Californian folk, and gentle folk. A genuinely eye-opening musical treat.

Review: Warren Hampshire's most recent collaborative albums with jazz pianist Greg Folk, Galaxies Like Grains of Sand and The Honey Bear, both tended towards the pastoral and folksy, with the pair frequently delivering blends of jazz, folk and Americana that were almost cinematic in scale and tone. Hampshire has taken this sound further on Language of the Birds, combining stripped-back orchestration (strings, woodwind, occasional brass) with finger-picked folk guitars and drifting harmonica sounds. It was an album inspired by the vegetation and wildlife encountered on rural walks, and you can tell. It reminded us a little of Bert Jansch and Martin Jenkins' similarly-minded 1978 album Avocet, which - like Language of the Birds - is a very good album indeed.

Review: Quiet introspection and a fascinating view of 'ordinary life' characterise the latest solo record from singer-songwriter Bill Callahan. Many of his lyrics are observations of the mundane, but elevated by his wordplay and the dreamy, lullaby like quality of the guitar strumming around them. Nothing along the way here is ever forced, it unfolds with a sense of realism that is compelling throughout, and though much of it is masculine in subject, there is a feminine side to the emotion that make it widely accessible. Folky music this warm, heartfelt and filled with simple gratitude is a stable for this label, but few do it as well as Bill.

Review: Swedish sisters First Aid Kit have enjoyed significant global success over the last 13 years, and many younger readers may struggle to remember a time when they were merely considered 'MySpace sensations' (a tag more famously applied to Arctic Monkeys). Drunken Trees dates from that time - 2008 to be precise - and was the duo's first physical release. As this delicious yellow vinyl reissue proves, the mini album remains as charming and warming as ever. Confident, accessible and addictive, the set's eight songs offer gentle blends of folk, country and Americana that are capable of putting a smile on the face of even the most miserable of listeners.

Review: Always possessed of a maturity and poise somewhat beyond her years, Laura Marling has made five albums by the age of 25, and only seems to be further cementing her place as a classic artist with each; Slow Move arrives in the wake of a spell of living in LA, and although the Dylan-esque verses of 'Strange' betray a touch of Americanophilia, elsewhere this self-produced effort bears all the composure, confidence and intuitively insightful songwriting that are her hallmarks, with sparse instrumentation making a perfect backdrop for her raw meditations and compelling honesty. Another triumph for the indecently talented ingenue.

Review: Emotional Rescue is delighted to offer this compilation of music from Elaine Kibaro and her particular coalesce of chanson, folk, balearic and touch of disco, all encased in her strong French and North African roots.

The music included here, released between 1979 to 1989, is an expression of her development, of music changes matching growth in life, conveyed through her emotions in song. Opening with the spoken word Introduction from her debut album, "Mirrors" and the folk rock of melodies of Le Reveil from the 1981 follow up, Au Soleil, her early works are characterised by band, orchestra and choirs complimenting her voice as one.

This is further heard on the mystical Sorciere, psyche percussion of Secret, the marching Le Guerrier and the inclusion her first "hit" with Aurore, appearing her in all it's extended, off-kilter guitar meets organ form.

Exploring sensitivity and desires the compilation matches these earlier folk and world inspired songs with her move towards electronic production that accompanied a return some 4 years later, adding balearic and even pop dance found on 1985's Le Long De Fleuve Amour and the following 1989 opus, in Kiroel.

L'Amour Pour Bouclier and Ne Doute Pas lift her music higher towards lovers' heights, with word, melody, and rhythm giving the desire to dance and be free, while her continuing exploration of chanson and spoken word takes on new meanings via the new wave meets estoric Douleur, while the emotionally charged soundscape of Kiroel brings balance.

Inspired by the purity of song, Kibaro's music's has a timeless essence to behold; a voice and words found through life experience - beauty, discovery, nature and dreams.

A love and hope in music, her quest for the infinite potential in song.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Not to be confused with Marty Robbins' solo album, Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, here the country icon shares tracklist space with another legend of Americana, Johnny Cash, with this release marrying work from both artists in a way that is coherent and captivating, a combination of two true talents that you could listen to forever.

Ordered in a send and return style - so we get one from Robbins, one from Cash, one from Robbins, one from Cash - the quality of song craft both men possessed hits you from the word go, and no song here even comes close to letting those exacting standards slip. A piece of history, or rather multiple pieces of musical history laid out for you to dive right into and immerse yourself, it should be on everyone's shelf.

Review: For all her otherworldly talents, even hardcore fans of Joanna Newsom will likely be relieved to hear that 'Divers' marks a very slight move back from the artistic brink compared to 2010's 'Have One On Me', an exhausting triple-album embarrassment of riches which few ever made it though in one go. Yet there's no hint of compromise on the deliriously thrilling 'Divers', despite its slightly more concise approach - the elegant yet baroque wordplay, ornate and innovative arrangements and Newsom's unique voice are all present and correct - yet more, these emotive and engaging ditties may mark the most accessible thing this iconoclastic and mercurial artist has thus far summoned from the ether.