Album Of the Year: Matthew E White, Big Inner (Domino)
Remarkable debut featuring seven songs spread over 42 minutes of gospel-touched pop with a bottomless soulful reach.
White, from Virginia, is said to be the son of missionaries and a seam of religion runs through this album, reaching a crescendo in the ten-minute closing track, Brazos, which builds to a mesmerising gospel chant. Perhaps most remarkable are the different moods White summons – easygoing, sensual and electrifyingly passionate by turns.
New voices times one: Valerie June, Pushin’ Against A Stone (Sunday Best)
New voices times two: John Fullbright, From The Ground Up (Blue Dirt Records)
Just still generally excellent: Richard Thompson, Electric (Proper Records)
Warming burst of the gruff stuff: Steve Earle & The Dukes (and Duchesses), The Low Highway (New West).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here