Tompkins Square Us Vinyl & CDs

Review: Country and folk fans alike take heed - Muireann Bradley is a startling new talent in country and bluegrass from County Donegal in Ireland. I Kept These Old Blues absolutely calls back to a golden age of Americana, but Bradley's Irish lilt comes through and entwines with her faithful Southern twang to make for an endlessly charming end result. Her playing is pitch-perfect, stripped to the bone finger-picking all the better to savour the songs and the way they're sung. Don't sleep on this limited coloured vinyl edition of this rough diamond of an album.

Review: Meredith Monk is a bit of a legend around certain circles. The multi-talented composer, dance performer and director has appeared in and been the main producer of a a whole world of material from the early 70s right up to this very day. While her most iconic work has perhaps been credited to the infamous ECM imprint, the artist's early work is still regarded as her most poignant and expressive. Key, her debut album from 1971, is a rarity in its original form, so this reissue from Tompkins Square has probably made the wish of many collectors come true! Not only is the album a piece of work to be lauded for its vision and originality, but it also ticks off many boxes and crosses many dots. Guided by Monk's mouse-like sounds in a sort of hyper-falsetto, the LP moves and shifts between different influences and styles; from ominous drones to more dreamy soundscapes, this is ambient cranked up to the max and given a good shouting at. Psychedelic and fearless, Monk prowls on in people's imagination.