On Tuesday 8th April the Official Charts Company, produced by English Folk Expo, revealed the Top 40 best-selling and most streamed folk albums released in the March reporting period in the UK by UK and Irish artists. The chart is first announced to the public on Tuesday 8th April at 7pm GMT as part of the Official Folk Albums Chart Show presented by Folk on Foot via their YouTube channel.
There are a staggering fourteen new releases in the March chart!
Myles Smith’s You Promised Me A Lifetime (RCA) has returned to the No. 1 spot once again.
New at No. 3 is The Smile You Send Out Returns To You (Last Night From Glasgow) from Stephen McAll, aka Constant Follower. A song cycle tackling addiction, recovery, parenthood and the impact of kindness, the album is reminiscent of Low’s emotional heft or the sonic curiosity of Mark Hollis and was written in a remote cabin just outside the Scottish town of Callander.
At No. 4 is These Quiet Friends (Thea Gilmore), a collection of songs that have served as musical anchors for distinctive singer-songwriter, Thea Gilmore. “This is the second album of covers I’ve made in my career so far. Loft Music, all the way back in 2003, was full of songs that I wished I’d written,” says Thea. “(This) is an album of songs that have seen me through dark times, the 2am confidantes that you can reach for when no one else is around.”
Revered British band the Levellers land at No. 7 with their new live album, Collective – Live (On The Fiddle), recorded in 2023 at London’s iconic Hackney Empire. Bassist Jeremy Cunningham explains, “(It) allowed us to flex our musical muscles with stuff that’s really hard to play but really rewarding at the same time. The ying to our electric yang!”
Jim Ghedi’s intense and brooding album Wasteland (Basin Rock) enters at No. 12. “Wasteland is about the idea of a place once known or familiar that is now broken down and unrecognisable,” says Ghedi. Zooming in on personal experiences while reflecting on broader societal issues, he continues, “It’s about exploring the process of watching someone’s surroundings and environment collapse.”
At No. 13 is Hinterland (Ear To The Ground Music), the remarkable collaboration between celebrated musicians Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver. Blending instrumental tunes, such as Monaghan Jig Set, with vocal pieces exploring nature and human experience, the album creates a rich soundscape of folk horror, remembrance and the landscapes that inspire their art.
Joshua Burnside’s latest album Teeth Of Time (Nettwerk) lands at No. 16. Ambitious, foreboding and provocative, it blends lush Irish folk with tense electronica and showcases Burnside’s full sonic range, combining hazy soundscapes with traditional melodies, feedback-drenched samples, found sounds and tongue-in-cheek lyricism.
London-based multi-disciplinary artist Clara Mann’s debut album Rift (The State51 Conspiracy) comes in at No. 17. Evocative and deeply personal, it navigates liminal spaces between light and dark, growth and remorse, loss and reclamation, ultimately embracing the guilt, pain and beauty of the world and the self.
Other new entries in the March chart include:
- No. 21 – Her By Design (One In Ten) – Jenn Butterworth
- No. 23 – Fire & Dust – A Woody Guthrie Story (Hatsongs) – Reg Meuross
- No. 27 – New Light (Big Sun) – Chris Brain
- No. 28 – Northern Sky (Ten West) – The Wellermen
- No. 30 – Wildfires (One Little Independent) – Polly Paulusma
- No. 33 – Fool’s Spring (Nettwerk) – Luke Sital-Singh
- No. 39 – Sanju (Flatfish) – Flook
The full Top 40 list can be viewed HERE
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