The latest releases reviewed

This obviously fell under a few radars, but it's an album of immense charm and skill. Formed by banjo maestro Pat McGarvey from Belfast, the Southern Tenant Folk Union (named after an interracial union group in Arkansas in the 1930s) play a compelling mix of bluegrass, gospel, old time and celtic swing that is memorably embellished with warm and richly woven harmonies. McGarvey's songs are steeped in Americana, both in content and in context; inspired by the likes of the Carter Family and the Stanley Brothers, he and his five trusty acoustic brothers and sister reach for emotional highs and by and large make them. The instrumental backdrop is rich and spirited, with fiddle and banjo prominent, but it is songs such as the achingly beautiful closer Candle Waltz that stand out. www.southerntenantfolkunion.com   JOE BREEN

Download tracks:Sweeter Times, The Cold Flagstone, Candle Waltz

The Sick and Indigent Song Club is the story of a chance meeting which became an event which in turn became this album. Friends in song and performance, the members of this Dublin Americana band would meet every Monday in a city-centre pub to share their songs. It became an event, and the band grew out of this. It still has the feeling of an impromtu gig, with an unevenness in the quality of the music: there's a long distance between the intensity of scene setter Gary Fitzpatrick's Far Away from Home to Angie McLaughlin's throw-away Rainy Days. Her next song, Under the Moon, is more effective, but the trio closes clunkily with Sunday Afternoon. Unlike Southern Tenant, with whom they'll play a few gigs in late August, SISC use an electric bass and it lacks the warmth of the double bass. But at their best, Fitzpatrick's songs (Sarah Jane, Shrew Shanty) have an ageless grace to them. JOE BREEN

Download tracks:Shrew Shanty, Far Away from Home, Sarah Jane