Bernard Carney is one of Australia’s most accomplished singer-songwiters and is frequently a guest at the major music festivals.

His long-awaited fourth CD will not disappoint: masterfully-constructed songs both personal and social  often intertwined with a touch (or more than a touch) of sarcasm and wit, such as White Goods for the Heart and Green Weapons, yet not afraid to confront issues e.g. Stolen Car, Dreams of Peace.  He is joined by David Hyams (acoustic, electric & slide guitars), Roy Martinez (bass, fretless bass), Angus Diggs (drums & percussion) as well as other guests.

Phil Beck has been a part of the WA folk scene for as long as I can remember.  His fondness for both traditional and contemporary British folk songs combines with tasteful guitar accompaniment to present an album of his favourite songs. If you like Martin Carthy or Nic Jones, chances are you’ll like Phil Beck.

Phil’s dextrous guitar provides the main accompaniment, but he is joined by Erik Kowarski on fiddle for about half the songs, with guest appearances from Danny Spooner (concertina) and Roy Abbott (mandolin).

The Gang of Three (actually four) are a Celtic folk based band comprising two of Perth’s best-known artists, Alan Ferguson and Joff Davies, together with gifted songwriter Tom Percy and versatile fiddler Matt Stapleton.  Although known for their rowdy humour, the focus of this studio album is the songs of Tom Percy (and one of Alan Ferguson), telling of injustices and mysteries of Western Australia’s past, as well as a few traditional folk classics.  One point of note is Joff’s and Alan’s vocals- some of the finest traditional style singing on a current release.

Them Little Secrets are an exciting new act featuring Lateisha Boucher and Fiona Rea on vocals, accompanied by Fiona on piano and guitar.  Their songs are very personal and full of emotion. The styles vary from the intimate Jacqueline to cheeky jazz oveertones in Him to the lush, piano-driven Our First Winter. 

This mini-album features six songs, where they are joined at various times by Marcus Perozzi (percussion), Philip Waldron (double bass), Tony Annesse (bass), Sam Graham (trumpet), Erik Kowarski (violin) and Emma McCoy (cello).

Roses from the Heart is a compilation of songs about female convicts taken to Australia.  Inspired by the untold stories of these over 25,000 women, Christina Henri has embarked on an historic art project where a bonnet will be made to represent each one.  Already over 18,000 bonnets have been made, and Christina has been touring with them,

The CD features a variety of artists including Bernard Carney and Them Little Secrets.  Several of the songs have been written specially for the album, others have been released to Christina in support.

The Ballpoint Penguins second CD is a collection covering Handel to Tom Lehrer, covering subjects from socks and assembling flat packs to the economy and whales.  No stone is left unturned in the Penguins’ quest for the quirky.

For a trio of a cappella singers the sound is huge- and it’s real!  There are no layers of overdubs:  they sound this big live, too.

This album is guaranteed to hit the funny bone, in the guise of sweet melodies, catchy rhythms and rich counterpoint.