Back on the road

With 40 years passing since Ricky Ross met Dougie Vipond and they decided to form a band, you would expect Deacon Blue to be slowing down, but after an excellent greatest hits collection last year, they hit us with some of their best music in ages, in praise of home town Glasgow.

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DEACON BLUE The Great Western Road ★★★★(Cooking Vinyl)

The sweeping strings on Late 88 are glorious, and as always the voices of Ross and his wife Lorraine McIntosh are sublime together. Ashore and Turn Up Your Radio hark back to their chart success days and should be hugely popular on Radio 2 playlists.

TORIA WOOFF Toria Wooff ★★★★(Sloe Flower)

A Bolton lass that has been gradually building up to this debut album for a few years. Taking her time undoubtedly feels like it’s paid off. She’s a gothic folk singer with a clever sense of Americana influences as well, culled from his father’s record collection when she was younger. For a “new” artist, she has clever arrangements - Sweet William starts simply before the band gently join her later, and that song, along with the melancholy Lefty’s Motel Room, benefit from gorgeous pedal steel.

BRIAN D'ADDARIO Till The Morning ★★★(Headstack)