Recommended Albums of 2013

It's that time of the year again when I look back through all the new releases I've been sent and I can honestly say that 2013 has been a good year with some excellent releases from both sides of the Atlantic. I could rename my show to the Scottish Folk and Americana Music Show as that more accurately reflects the balance of music I've been playing over the last 12 months and special thanks go to promoters Bob Buchan, Martin Hadden and Geraint Jones who have sent me the bulk of what I have featured on the show this year. Thanks also to all the other promoters and artists who have also posted albums to me or emailed me mp3s and to Neil King and everyone at Acoustic Spectrum.

These two lists are in purely alphabetical order but if you were to push me I'd probably say 'Lay Your Dark Low' by Salt House and 'Little Boat' by Rita Hosking are my two favourite albums of the year. Or possibly The Chair and Birds of Chicago!

UK\Europe Top 15

Paul Anderson - Land of the Standing Stones
Barrule - Music from the Isle of Man
Battlefield Band - Room Enough For All
The Chair - The Road to Hammer Junkie
Djonne & Borsheim - Toras Dans
Judy Dyble - Flow and Change
Tom Houston - Open The Skylights
The Low Countries - The Invisible Ray
Salt House - Lay Your Dark Low
Phil McLellan Smillie - Sound of Taransay
Calum Stewart & Heikki Bourgault - Hunter's Moon
Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston - Sing A Full Song
Richard Thompson - Electric
VAMM - VAMM
Matt Woosey Band - On The Waggon


USA\Canadian Top 15

The Abramson Singers - Late Riser
Sam Baker - Say Grace
Birds of Chicago - Birds of Chicago
Slaid Cleaves - Still Fighting the War
Stephen Fearing - Between Hurricanes
Ashleigh Flynn - A Million Stars
Melissa Greener - Transistor Corazon
The High Bar Gang - Lost and Undone: A Gospel Bluegrass Companion
Rita Hosking - Little Boat
Phil Lee - The Mighty King of Love
Rebecca Pronsky - Only Daughter
Rose's Pawn Shop - Dancing on the Gallows
J Shogren + Shanghai'd - God Bless These Crooked Little Songs
The Tillers - Hand on the Plow
Woody Pines - Rabbit's Motel

The Folk & Acoustic Music Show
Mondays at 9pm / Tuesdays at 2am
Listen online at acoustic-spectrum.co.uk
Listen again at mixcloud.com/cmbertram