Michael England

It is a testament to the quiet power and appeal of this gentle folk album that I found myself silently singing along to several songs the very first time I listened to it. Gorka has been a fixture of the new folk/acoustic music world since the 1980s—a reliably strong singer-songwriter and guitarist who has never quite broken through to the masses but has long maintained a sizable and dedicated fan base.

Beat the wintertime blues with these noteworthy acoustic-driven releases from Dylan Day, Haley Heynderickx and Max García Conover, h. pruz, Tony Molina, Josh Martin, Courtney Hartman, Courtney Marie Andrews, Hiroya Tsukamoto, and Christopher “Isto” White. Dylan Day, The Unanswered Prayer Quiet, expressive solo guitar compositions played straight from the heart on an imperfect old Gibson LG-2.

Pablo Sáinz-Villegas has ascended to the upper echelon of successful classical guitarists through a combination of his extraordinary skill as a player, his warm and inviting stage persona, and by focusing on a broad but always accessible repertoire that spans the Baroque era to the present day. You’re not going to hear angular and dissonant modern works from him.